How To Survive in Gaia
by Ninja Cat of Light
Summary: She learned the hard way on what it would be like to end up in a place where she knows everyone, but no one knows her. Now stranded, Mia has to cope with finding a way home. The hard part is, some people aren't willing to see her go home just yet.
1. Chapter 1 Through the Rabbit Hole

Wow… my first FF7 fic… I'm sorta intimidated but I think I'll get over it here in a second…….Ok now I am! Please, review! I accept constructive criticism but no flames, please; I don't enjoy the smell of smoke! Moving on! BTW, I do not own any Final Fantasy games, characters, or even any of the other things such as authors, books, etc that are mentioned in this fic. Really, I just own the main character, Mia.

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Chapter 1 Through the Rabbit Hole

My eyes quickly scanned the words across the pristine white pages of the new book I just bought last month. I had already read it twice but there wasn't a problem with reading a 360 page book three times in only two months, was it? Okay, so maybe I don't have a life, but that's no reason to not read a very well written book. The real sad thing about it though, was that it was depriving me from the world of my cherished videogames/movies/etc.

That was yet another thing that distracted me from reality. Videogames had become quite a hobby of mine in the past, well, I'm not sure but I'm guessing about… since I could use my thumbs to press A. Yeah, so you can kind of sum up the fact that I'm destined to be a shut-in with lots of cats and videogames once I'm finished with college. In fact, I can tell you now that videogames take up about 60% of my time.

What takes up the rest of it you may, or may not, ask? Let's see, reading takes up almost the rest of it then, the other 1% is the necessities: sleeping, eating, making good (enough) grades so I don't get kicked out of college. That's the sort of things that I usually partake in.

Sadly, though, I have just found a new love in the a new series of books. The twisted, yet humorful (yes, I just said humorful) works are very intriguing and I can relate to them better than almost any other book ever did for me. As much as I love it, it has been distracting me from finishing Final Fantasy XII which I was in the middle of before buying my latest book. Plus, I had been on a role of watching Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children at least once a week but that also came to a screeching halt when I picked upthe first installment of the seriesabout six months ago.

Also, sadly, reading and walking isn't a very good idea because when you're so immersed in such a great piece of literature you tend to forget to watch which way traffic's going in the parking lot. That's about when I decided to take the book out from my nose to discover the trio of cars in my path. One had stopped just in time from hitting me and they were all honking very noisily at me. All I could do was shout apologies and run as quickly as I could to the side walk which I had strayed from so long ago.

I was able to reach my dorm room without any further deadly encounters and as soon as I flopped on my bed I pulled my book back out and began to delve even more into the story. On reflex, one of my fingers pressed the "on" button to my tiny TV because I ilke having a little noise. It came on with some dramatic movie playing on the Lifetime channel. I ignored the sounds of people confessing their love to each other and went back to the wonders of the fictional world that is literature.

After an extravagantly long time of reading I finally encountered the last page of the book forcing me to put it down and face the real world once more… Which is no fun at all but I guess we all have to deal with it.

I looked up to see another movie on with yet another scene of love confessing and the romantic goop that goes with it. I wasn't too familiar with dating because I never had anyone ask me out at High School because I was such a loner. Sure, I wasn't the ugliest girl or the meanest chick, but people always looked at me weird because I never wanted to "hang out" with anyone. That left me a lot of time to spend by myself reading or playing videogames, but since people today are shallow and insecure, I got teased a lot for my nerdy demeanor. Which brings us back to the subject of "love"… yeah, it's shallow and insecure in my eyes like the rest of those people who said I would never be able to pick up a guy if I was too busy picking up books and videogames…. Their loss!

While gagging myself a bit over the love scene, I quickly changed the channel to something more entertaining: mindless, violent, and oh-so addicting cartoons! Since there was nothing on, though, I decided to reacquaint myself with the world of DVD's! Mainly being (you guessed it) Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

I popped the DVD into my laptop and plugged my earphones in so I could have complete privacy while watching my favorite movie of all time. Nothing was going to interrupt this glorious two and a half hours because I had no idea how long I had gone without watching it (I was on the verge of having withdrawals). I nestled onto my bed and made myself as comfy as possible while the FBI warnings took there time in telling me not to do this or that.

After sitting through the credits (yes, I actually take the time to do that) I let the DVD go back to the menu and I exited out of the window to look at my plain computer background. I don't usually bother to put anything on the background but it was about time I needed to. Just a plain, blue screen starts to look boring if you look at it everyday.

Just when I pulled up the Internet I heard the rumble of a storm begin to stir outside. I could already see the lightning flash before I had time to go to Google images. Since the lightning never pertained to me, I just kept going. I looked up some images of Final Fantasy VII and found a pleasant one of Sephiroth and posted it as my background.

While I was admiring my new, and rather hot, background a pop-up ad interrupted my moment. "Are you ready?" it read. I didn't know what the heck it was for but I exited out of it anyway. I hated pop-up ads and I was almost certain that my virus-scanner was supposed to block them.

There must've been some tech-angel watching out for me because right when I shut down my laptop the power in the dormitory became non-existent. I heard several squeals from all of the other girls who must not have put up whatever electronic item before the power went out. That made me want to get my broom out of my closet again and bang the roof… again… because apparently, the girl who lives above me didn't know the meaning of "try not to panic when the lights go out" whenever she went to freshman orientation.

Power-outs were quite common but some girls weren't very mature about them. Usually they'll go wandering around banging on other dorm doors or they'll start panicking like there's no tomorrow. I usually just follow what's advised and stay where I am until the lights come back on. There is also the instance where I'm about to beat a boss on a videogame and the power decides to quit… that's whenever I become immature and start yelling profane language while throwing the remote controller at my TV. Fun times…

This time, I decided it would be a good moment to go to the grocery store to pick up some candy seeming how I was low on food. I grabbed my purse (which was more of a canvas piano bag) and pawed for my flashlight in the dark and left after locking my door.

Other girls were wandering the halls with their flashlights on and I had to give a couple of them a death-glare whenever they shined their light in my face. I made my way down a couple of flights of stares (quite loudly to add, only to evoke more screams from more of the immature girls) and out to the parking lot where my old, beat up car waited for me.

The engine came to life after I turned the car on and right when I was backing out it suddenly died on me. I was left in the driver's seat trying my best to crank the 1987 model back up but only to fail. My dictionary turned colorful, at the moment, and I only sat there banging my head against the steering wheel. Finally, I decided to try it one more time and it came to life. I praised my car a few times before speeding to the grocery store which was located off-campus.

It was dark and it was raining, but I decided to take a couple of back-roads anyway. I always liked taking them as long as a deer didn't hit my car. It had little traffic but it required a little more caution. Caution was the least thing I used on the road so I speeded down the pour asphalt anyway.

That was when my car died……again… it came to a sliding stop and I had to press my brakes just to actually bring it to a stop. I heard a loud thump and felt one side of my car go considerably lower than the rest. My tire had run off the shoulder and I automatically knew I was stranded.

Of course…. This was just my luck… I tried my cell phone but it had no signal whatsoever and it was also low on battery.

"GREAT!!!" I shouted at nothing, "JUST FLIPPIN' GREAT!!!"

I banged my fists on the steering wheel to no avail. I would have to wait until the storm cleared up which was probably going to be in the morning so I locked the car doors, leaned the seat back, and prepared for a long night in the middle of the woods… alone… in the dark… with nothing but old newspapers and window chalk (multiple college pranks…) to defend myself with…

"I wanna go home!" I whined like a child. Then my mind began to wander which isn't a very good thing when you're stranded. I thought about the pop-up add on my computer. Could it have predicted this? Or could it have been something worse yet to come?

My eyes darted from window to window in my car, just in case. The rain was finally starting to come down which helped me feel calmer. I squirmed a bit in my seat to find a comfortable position and finally sat still. My eyes began to close on their own and I soon fell into a dreamless sleep.

Little did I know the madness that awaited me……

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Yay! It's finished! Sorry if it was a little cliché for a beginning but I couldn't think of anything that would end Mia up in… well… you know! But, hey, it coulda been worse! Anyhoo, please review! Please PLEASE review! I accept constructive criticism with open arms, but like what I said above: no flames, people! It's my first Final Fantasy VII fic anyway! And to my past readers: I am not dedicating chapters but I do want reviews anyway! It encourages me to update!

Later! ;)

Ninja Cat of Light


	2. Chapter 2 Arrival

So here's my second chapter! I wanted to post it anyway so I wouldn't just have a pointless introductory. And once more, I do not own Final Fantasy, its movies/products/etc, or any other material mentioned such as books, authors, etc. I just own the my character, Mia. I also apologize if events seem too rushed but that's just how I write and how the story came out.

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Chapter 2 Arrival

People wonder where we go once we die. There have been lots of conflicts and debates over this subject. I, on the other hand, am trying to figure out where I am even though I'm still alive!

The last thing I remember was being stranded on some back roads in the woods with a half-wrecked car. Now here I am waking up in an unfamiliar place and figuring out whether I should stay put or try to find my way out.

I sat up from my sleeping position on what looked like to be an old floor and gazed around me. I was still a little groggy from sleep so I had to wait a bit before I could see clearly. I was not prepared for what I did see though.

It looked like I was in an old, possibly abandoned church. Somehow it was familiar to me. There were pillars broken and lying on the floor and humongous chunks of what seemed to be marble broken in giant piles on the floor. The marble piles were probably the reason the sun was shining through the roof and I could see blue skies above my head.

That was good because that meant clear reception. With a slightly crazed smile of relief, I flipped out my old cell phone and dialed the number to the librarian of the college library. She was probably my only friend on the campus, seeming how I conversed with her a lot more than the students so she was probably the first person I should call. A voice recording only told me that the number couldn't be reached. I was highly puzzled at that because I have always been able to reach the librarian's phone so I tried her home phone. Once again, it couldn't be reached.

There was the signal that things weren't as they seemed, so I took another good look around the church. I saw a giant stained glass window that when the light hit it, the colors danced on the floor. There was also a small pool in the middle of the floor.

Then it hit me.

"Oh my…" I said as the cruel truth dawned on me. I realized that I was in Edge of all places. "No, no, no! This is just some kind of sick and twisted joke! It has to be! I can't be here, when I was there, and now I'm _here_, but I'm supposed to be _there_."

It's not strange to hear me talk to myself. It wasn't even strange when I began to confuse myself with my own words, but it's definitely a sign that I'm upset when I'm pacing back and forth which was exactly what I was doing. I needed to find a solution but I couldn't figure out what to do.

In the time it took me to do about 16 rounds of pacing from wall to wall I developed about 3 options:

A. Stay here, let someone find you, tell the truth, and play it by ear.

B. Do the sane thing and ask for directions to the nearest apartment buildings, find a job, and _try _to survive here.

C. Go out, get hit by a car, hopefully not die, fake amnesia, and have everything set for the rest of my life here.

D. None of the above…

…NOTHING IS WORKING FOR ME!!!!! If I go with plan A I'll look like a complete lunatic, get put in an asylum, and suffer for the rest of my time here. Then there's plan B which probably wouldn't help. Plan C would most likely get me killed and I don't want to die yet. Then, what would I do if I got stuck with plan D?

I sank to the ground and said to myself, "My. Life. Sucks. Why couldn't I stay put back at the dorms?"

The crap hath hitteth the fan…ith… Yeah, so here I am without a clue what to do in the middle of GAIA!!! Most girls would probably say they'd go hunt down all the characters and glomp them… I have to actually do the SANE thing because I'm actually stuck in the real Gaia. Life sucks, my friends, but it doesn't get any suckier than being thrown into a world you only have but a bit of a clue about.

By then, I was crying which is something I hardly ever do. Last time I cried it was when I was thirteen and had witnessed the death of Aerith on my TV screen while playing Final Fantasy VII the first time around. I hated crying but right now I was at a moment of weakness and I needed to let out my emotions somehow without screaming like a banshee and definitely being put into an asylum.

There was also the thought that I might not be able to get back to my place and time. I could possibly be stuck here forever. What would everyone think at home? Would they think I died, got kidnapped, or whatever else could possibly happen to a college student all alone in the middle of the woods?

Those thoughts didn't help at all and only made me sob a bit. My mind distracted me from catching the sound of footsteps entering the chapel and I was only brought back to the present by the sound of someone's voice.

"Are you alright?"

Profane words flashed through my head. I would definitely be voicing them if it wasn't for the fact that it would be a bad idea. Besides, that's just plain rude.

I started to wipe my eyes and tried to smile and look half-decent. I must've seemed pretty pathetic. I was probably a real mess because I usually had dark circles under my eyes from over-exposure to videogames, pale skin from my hatred to the sun, I slept in my clothes from yesterday, and my eyes were probably red from crying.

"I'm fine… Just lost." I replied, trying to keep my answers short and sweet. I hadn't even looked up to see who was speaking to me but I could tell it was a girl around my age by the sound of their voice. When I finally looked up I had to try my best from looking shocked.

Tifa Lockhart, _the_ Tifa Lockhart, was staring back at me, kneeling on the ground next to me. I looked back down out of shame that I was caught crying. What I really needed to do is contemplate what to do instead of feeling weak. It was probably time for the truth… well, some of it at least. Turns out I really was being forced to use a modified version of plan A

"I… got lost last night and I really don't know what to do." I said and tried to swallow my embarrassment.

Tifa smiled warmly and said, "Can you tell me how you got here? Maybe I can help you find your way back."

This made me feel a bit better but I didn't know how to explain to her that I wasn't from this world and I left my car back on Earth. Maybe I could find some truth to tell her though.

"I was driving last night and my car broke down. I decided to get out and try to find somewhere to stay or someone to fix my car. I ended up getting lost and when I tried my cell phone I couldn't get a hold of anybody." I explained to Tifa to the best of my advantage but I had to keep from stumbling on my words whenever I had to lie.

"Does your phone work now?" Tifa asked sincerely. It hurt to lie to someone so nice but what else could I do?

"Um… no, it ran out of batteries. Plus, I already tried before you got here. I can't reach anyone." I said. Most of that was true so I didn't have a problem with explaining it to her. My cell phone did run out of batteries shortly after I tried to contact the librarian and there was no use trying any of my family, they lived almost too far away to reach on Earth.

"Do you know anyone here? Maybe we can find them." Tifa suggested.

"I don't know anyone here." I replied. That was half the truth, half a lie. Lie, because I did know a lot of people here… _a lot_. Truth, because I didn't know any of them personally and they would look at me weird if I ran up to them and said, "Hey, Rufus, howabout a ride to the nearest 7-11?" That would probably get me killed if it really was Shinra…. Crap, that'd be so fun, too.

I had finally stood up properly and faced Tifa who was thinking over something. While she was thinking, I was fiddling with the end of my green shirt. I hadn't noticed how many holes were actually in this thing, so now not only did I look like a mess, I looked like a professional bum.

"Maybe you should come home with me." Tifa decided. My stomach was doing back flips and I was trying to process the thought clearly. "By the way my name's Tifa." She said.

"I probably should… go home with you, I mean." I replied, maybe a little too eager. Tifa only smiled and told me to follow her and I walked with her out of Aerith's church. I couldn't help but visualize the word "Jackpot" running over and over throughout my head. Going home with Tifa meant getting to set foot in the same place Cloud Strife lives at. I was definitely having a fangirl moment which had to be cleverly disguised so as not to attract the wrong kind of attention.

I had to put the fangirl moment to death because I was in a serious situation. I've always been pretty independent so having to live with someone else meant that I was going to have to… well… I'm not entirely sure but I'm sure it means something. That really wasn't the most serious part though, what was really serious was the fact that I was in a world and possibly a dimension separated from mine. This called for being serious and not for drooling over spiky, blonde haired men.

This reminded me of how Cloud would possibly react. I knew he was most likely to be indifferent about it like most men are towards girl they are living with/crushing on. Then, there's the instance where he would give me a strange look and ask Tifa what the heck was she thinking… C-r-u-d…

I snapped myself out of my self-absorbed thoughts and brought myself back to reality as I know it so far. Tifa had led me all the way out of the chapel and we were already at a strange black car that I never remembered seeing in the videogame.

"You have a car?" I blurted out non-intentionally. Crap, I screwed up this time…

Tifa only looked a little funny for a second and then replied, "Of course, I have a car. Why did you ask?"

Thank goodness, Tifa was so nice. I thought of a quick excuse, "Um, it's just I didn't see one from inside the church."

"Oh, okay." She said before hopping in the passenger's seat. I got in after her in the passenger's seat. "So what's your name?" she asked.

"Mia." I replied.

That's when I realized how tired I was even though I had at least eight… or maybe five hours of sleep. I fell asleep with my face turned to the window closest to me, away from Tifa. I bet whoever saw me got a real good kick out of that but I didn't care and I thought it was impolite to let Tifa notice that I had actually fallen asleep.

I was startled awake by the sound of Tifa's car door opening and I stretched my arms.

"We're here." She announced after I got out of my passenger's seat. I stretched a little more before following her into the bar that I already knew was 7th Heaven. It was almost exactly how it was depicted in the movie but I wasn't accustomed to the rooms that weren't shown in it.

"You run a bar?" I asked trying to seem like I had never seen it before.

"Yeah, we live in it, too." Tifa replied leading the way to the housing part.

The house was like the rooms and bar pictured in the movie: wooden floors, walls, and such. Tifa led the way to her room which was exactly like the one in the movie and opened her closet for me to choose what I wanted to wear.

"Pick out anything you like and you can go clean up if you want." Tifa said which meant taking a shower and that kind of stuff.

"Oh, thanks." I said before she left me for a little while to answer the phone. I picked out a random pair of jeans, a grey, casual shirt, and whatever else I needed and left to go take a shower. The only thing was that I had no clue where her bathroom was located.

This caused me not getting the guts up to actually ask Tifa while she was chatting on the phone and resulting in me trekking throughout the second floor of her house to find a decent place to take a shower. Who knew there would be this many rooms in one bar/house? I was able to point out where certain places were such as another bedroom, what looked like a kid's room, and a sort of living area. No where could I find a bathroom though because I was too chicken to open any closed doors (I had a fear of walking in on people… scary…). I also had a knack for getting lost… such a pleasant combination.

Just when I turned around to go wait in Tifa's room I bumped into something rather hard that was not there before. I looked up to see a mess of spiky blonde hair towering over me and strikingly blue-green eyes staring into my dull, brown ones.

"What are you doing here?" Cloud asked giving me this look like someone would give a rubber chicken lying in the middle of their bedroom.

"I-I… uh…" I was only managing to nervously stutter out enough words to make myself look like a fool. I never realized how intimidating Cloud really was and the fact that he thought I was an intruder didn't help. That's when the Calvary, a.k.a. Tifa, arrived and saved my butt from complete humiliation.

"Oh, Cloud, I see you've met Mia." Tifa said quickly getting between us.

"What's she doing here?" he asked yet again. I could only look down and blush like a bashful child.

"I found her at Aerith's church. She got lost last night and doesn't know anyone here so I brought her back here." Tifa answered pleasantly. I wasn't feeling pleasant at all, in fact, I felt downright stupid because of the look on Cloud's face. It changed from one that was puzzled and mildly distasteful to one of slight annoyance.

"Tifa, we can't take random people off the streets." Cloud tried to argue.

"But, Cloud, she hardly even has a clue where she is." Tifa tried to reason. I could tell they were at the beginning of a slight argument and all I wanted was to find a bathroom, take a shower, and wash my hair.

"C…can someone just point me out to the bathroom?" I said feeling my blush grow even redder. Tifa smiled sweetly at me and told me it was the door all the way down the hall to the right. It was also one of the closed ones I had tried to avoid.

I scurried with what honor I had to the door she pointed out and quickly took what dignity I had with me, at least what was left of it. I locked the door behind me from habit and glanced in the mirror. My reflection caught my eye and I realized that I really did look like professional bum. I had neglected washing my hair lately and I had a few stains and holes in my clothes. Sleeping on the floor of an abandoned church also leaves spots of grime all over you. Yup, I could definitely pass for a human dust bunny.

After hoping Tifa had a lot of stain remover and thread, I got my business done in the shower and put on the clothes Tifa let me borrow. Then, I put my ear to the door in case Tifa and Cloud were arguing, and after hearing silence I felt it was safe to leave the bathroom. I found Tifa talking to Cloud in the kitchen behind the bar-room and immediately felt like I really was intruding on their conversation. Tifa noticed my presence and asked if I needed anything.

"Yeah, I'm still tired. Is there anywhere I can sleep?" I asked. I sort of felt like a mooch now but what else could I do? I was absolutely exhausted and concluded that dimension-hopping probably does that to you.

"Sure, follow me." Tifa replied and I let her lead the way. She went back up the staircase and led me to one of the closed doors I had avoided.

"Thank you, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you any…" I tried to apologize.

"No, it's fine, really." Tifa stated, "This can be your room for now."

I thanked her once more before she left me and I gratefully flopped on the bed to take a long nap. Sadly, my body clock woke me up a lot earlier than I intended and I stared at the ceiling for a while.

That was when the questions of all questions popped in my head: Why am I on Gaia? and How Did I get here?

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Yay! End of the chapter! Finally! I wrote these two chapters in only ONE DAY!!! But I edited for a couple days. Yeah, I'm one bored person… I didn't know if I was going to be able to quit writing to tell you the truth. Anyways, so sorry if any of the canon characters seem OOC, but Tifa really does strike me as the kind to be all hospitable and nice, possibly a little too hospitable which makes me think of Cloud and how he could view her possibly taking in complete strangers. Please, review! It makes me happy and I might post a new chapter sooner! I also like learning so constructive criticism is accepted.

Ciao!

Ninja Cat of Light

P.S. I am also having trouble figuring out what genre this fic will go under so please bare with me on that part!


	3. Chapter 3 Complicated

Oh my gosh! I'm so irresponsible when it comes to fanfiction, but that's okay, I guess… sometimes… Anyway, sorry I haven't updated. It's not that I don't like this fic (I love it so far) it's just that I'm a busy person… or just lazy! Either way, I hope you readers enjoy this chapter. It was a little hard to get out but I think it's presentable enough.

Note: I do not own FF7 or any of the canon characters. Just the OC (by the way, this isn't a self-insert :) it's strange for me not to write a self-insert, but for once, I felt like having just a plain OC).

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Chapter 3 Complicated

The questions fluttered around in my head all afternoon and it kept me from returning to the sweet land of napping. The first question was: why was I on Gaia? There are millions of possible places that I could've landed on, and out of all places I'm here on a world where random monsters appear from nowhere… Well, of course they haven't done that to me, yet, but I'm still wondering if that actually does happen here. That's beside the point, though. The real point was out of all places in the universe of universes, I was here on Gaia. Why Gaia? Why not a world where I rule it?... (Okay, maybe that's why I'm on Gaia…)

The other question was: how did I get here? You don't just randomly fall from your car seat and into another universe, or there would be a bunch of people missing right now. People can't cross dimensions, either, I'm pretty certain it's been proved by some science channel, or another.

Then, a thought struck me. It must've been that crazy pop-up ad! No wonder I've always hated them! They induce dimension-crossing, don't they?... Well, no, they can't, or else a lot of people would be falling into gyms that were advertised. I guess that crosses that out. Then again, it could've been the one who _sent_ it to me, but why would they send _me_ out of all people an ad that warps you to another universe? What good am I to anybody but videogame stores?

I groaned and buried my face in the pillow on my bed. It was going to be a long time before I got home and, then, yet another subject struck me. Videogames. Why? WHY?!? I am going to suffer withdrawals, I just know it! I wonder if they have videogames here?... Crud… I'm already suffering withdrawals… I can already feel my thumbs twitching to press the imaginary buttons. I haven't even finished Final Fantasy XII yet! I guess I'll have to suffer this alone…

My mind finally ran out of new subjects to worry about and I raised my head to look out the window of the wall closest to me. I didn't have a clue whether the sun was in the East or West but I was pretty sure it was in the afternoon. I still didn't want to get up in fear of having to face what awaits my demise… I don't think I'm going to be able to take in any more surprises and I'm starting to develop the fear of Cloud waiting outside my door with an axe. Okay, I know he won't do that, but, still, I think the guy hates my guts already. Plus, I'm starting to fear that I'll become a mooch, eventually. Either way, I'm going to have to suck it up because, some time or another, I'm going to have to drag myself out of this room.

Then, there was the stomach signal… It was growling like an angry bear and I was surprised that my stomach hadn't already digested itself. I never realized how hungry I was, and no wonder! I haven't eaten all day!

Great, that means I'll have to face reality, once more. Mia vs. Reality; winner: Reality… With a groan, I dragged myself off of the creaky bed Tifa had generously provided me and slid my feet over to my door. I took a deep breath and steadied my heartbeat so as not to alarm anyone when I left the room. When I did open the door, I took tiny, baby steps like something was going to eat me if I wasn't quiet.

I tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen and peered in. Tifa was nowhere to be found in there so I bound over to the front where the bar was located. It was empty with no signs of life so I turned around and, lo and behold! Guess who I crashed in!

Yup, you guessed it. There was Cloud, the one guy I was hoping to avoid the entire rest of… well, my life to be exact. The embarrassment was still sizzling away at what was left of my honor and here was another batch of coals to fuel that fire.

Luckily, he only raised an eyebrow and elbowed past me. I muttered an apology and watched him go out the front door. From the new wave of shame, I looked down at my feet, which were completely bare seeming how my socks were with the rest of my dirty clothes…

Tifa must have been following him because she came out of a hall that Cloud could've just departed from. She looked a little distressed and I guessed it was over Cloud. Even if Cloud was actually staying at home, maybe things weren't doing too well between the two. I couldn't help but feel bad for Tifa. Cloud made me distressed, too, so I could finally share some kind of grief with her on the impossible young man.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't notice that you woke up earlier." Tifa apologized.

"It's fine, really, I just got up." I replied, trying my best to make things lighter on her. My stomach growled yet again and I had to keep myself from slapping it for being so stupid… Dumb stomach…

Tifa only smiled and escorted me to the kitchen. She started washing on a load of dirty dishes and told me I could help myself to whatever I wanted in the refrigerator. At first, I was hesitant but my stomach wasn't, so I made my away over there and explored what was hid in the refrigerator. I found some lunch meat and other stuff and made a quick sandwich. Cooking wasn't my forte, so I usually made sandwiches with just meat, a sauce, and bread. Nothing special, but it's just enough to keep my tummy quiet.

When I polished off what was left of the sandwich I looked over and saw Tifa still toiling over dishes. Usually, whenever I tried cleaning any glasses or plates, I just ended up breaking them somehow. Silverware, plastic cups, and other indestructible objects were the only things that could slightly survive from my poor dish washing skills. Still, it bothered me to see Tifa doing chores by herself.

"By the way, I'm taking care of two children right now." Tifa informed me.

"Really?" I replied trying to seem ignorant.

"Yes, they're not here right now so I sent Cloud to go get them."

This struck me as odd so I asked, "Where from?"

"School, they built a few new ones a little while back and our government requires children to go." Tifa answered me. That reminded me of the way people would have kids to go to school back on Earth.

I nodded my head in reply. There sure were a lot of things Tifa was forgetting to tell me, but I couldn't really blame her. I would hate being the one having to introduce a stranger into my house.

"So what're their names?" I said, trying to humor her.

"Marlene and Denzel." Tifa replied while stacking a few plates in a cabinet above the sink. There were also multiple glasses and bowls in the same cabinet as the plates. A few dishes were chipped from long and rough use.

I couldn't figure out anything else to ask. This caused me to foresee many long, awkward silences in my time here. I wasn't ever one for conversation, anyway, so I guess awkward silences will have to due from now on…

Then, I got bored…

"So… how's the weather been around here, lately?" I asked in an already doomed attempt at conversation. I was thinking that the real answer would probably be "acid rain", though, from all the pollutants caused by Shinra (of course).

"Oh, it's not too bad, a little cloudy, really, but no rain." Tifa said. She was a natural at these kinds of things.

"Hm…" I replied. I had no clue what to say, really.

"What's the weather like where you're from?" Tifa asked, trying to find a subject.

I fiddled with the statement in my head for a few seconds before replying, "Sorta like it is here. We don't have too much sunshine or too much rain."

"Ti-fa!" I heard a shout from the door as it flew open. The shout had startled me enough to make me shoot out of my chair.

"Tifa! Cloud says that there's a stranger he-," a little girl said loudly whilst running for the kitchen where Tifa was. She immediately stopped when she spotted me. "Oops," was all she said. It really was the only thing to say…I could already tell Marlene could handle social situations better than me.

Cloud walked in while his steps made noises between a click and a clomp on the floorboards. He leaned on the door-facing and watched the scene before him with an unreadable expression. Denzel was behind him and watched with interest and curiosity but didn't openly display it as Marlene did.

Tifa sighed, and for a moment I thought I saw either mild annoyance or exhaustion flash across her face. It was only a moment I saw the expression and Marlene, who was playing with the end of her pink hair-ribbon, hadn't even noticed it. I tried to smile and look friendly but children made me nervous so I was non-intentionally drumming my fingers on the table in front of me.

"Yes, sweetie, this is Mia, she's far from home, so she's going to be staying with us." Tifa explained with a good-natured tone and a smile to match.

"At least, until she gets back on her feet." Cloud added. It could be that I'm still feeling the after effects of shame, but, his last sentence made my blood stop. Not my heart, but my blood stop, in not yet anger but way past annoyance. I don't know why, but I had completely gotten past my fear of the hulking, lone-wolf hero, (over-sized-ego-and-whatever-choice-words-you-wish-to-add) and straight to not quite hatred but extreme dislike. For some reason, the tone he used struck a nerve.

For a second, the room fell silent because my fingers had ceased their drumming. It was thankfully broke when Marlene cheerfully said, "Okay!" and Cloud left the room and the children dispersed. I was about to make my escape back to the sanctuary that was currently my room here, but Tifa wasn't finished speaking to me.

"I'm sorry." She simply said. That made me feel like crap mixed with cement and mud… she hadn't done anything, yet, she was apologizing.

"No, it's not your fault." I replied. It had been the gutsiest thing I had said the entire time I was here. "It's nobody's really."

She smiled weakly, and went back to scrubbing dishes. I hurried back upstairs and straight to my room. I was muttering the same word, "Jerk," over and over under my breath. Cloud had no right to do that to that to Tifa! Most of all, he had no right to do that to me!... Ok, maybe he did…

Dragging my feet, I finally reached my room with no clue what to do anymore. It seemed like that if I tried to find a niche here, that I'd end up causing trouble, somehow. I had no clue how to locate through this place, and Cloud is apparently bent on giving me heck to deal with while I'm staying here, even if he's doing it little by little, all in a subtle way.

I could be overreacting, though… that's what you get when you invest half of your time screaming at whatever obstacle blocks your way in a videogame. I mean, if you really think about it, Cloud already does have Tifa and the kids to take care of and here comes me, from out of the blue.

Then again, he doesn't have to be so rude…

I buried my face in the pillow on the bed and let out a long agitated groan. "What have I gotten myself into?" I said to myself after turning over on the bed, spread-eagle. I stared at the ceiling for awhile while trying to clear my head, which was clearly hard to do, at the moment. This could not be doing anything good for my health…

My mind wandered for a bit before settling on family. What are they thinking right now? Would they even notice me gone? My eyebrows furrowed at the thought of family. Mom was probably too busy at her salon (which is more of a hobby for her than a salon) and Dad was probably busy at work. All the siblings were probably at college and here I was stuck in a completely different world, possibly universe.

I put those thoughts aside and rolled onto my side. Cloud's statement did bring up the fact that I couldn't just stay here forever. If I was ever going to be an independent being, I needed to learn how to get around and find a true home where I don't have to rely on others. But how? I have no transportation, only a vague knowledge of what kind of society I just got myself into, and no sense of location (besides what I know from the videogame, which is, believe it or not, extremely little).

I let loose a mental scream as I let myself get frustrated. While cursing the day I ever developed the idea of leaving my dorm room at an obviously unplanned power-out, I jumped to my feet and started to pace the room. Pacing seemed to be an activity I was doing an awful lot of lately because of my chronic confusion. At about my fifteenth lap of pacing, I forced myself to stop by grabbing the sides of the wooden dresser in the room. I looked up into the mirror as my light brown hair fell in front of my eyes. My brown eyes were an unusual dark brown, in almost a scary way. It must've been stress, though, right?

It was then, I noticed the mark.

* * *

Wow, that took way too long to complete, especially since it's short compared to my other chapters. Hopefully, the next one won't take as long, but I'm not making any promises. Be sure to leave a review or something; constructive criticism is welcome. Also, I apologize if this chapter was drug out when it came to Mia's thoughts, or if any of the canon characters were OOC. Thanks for reading ^_^.

Ninja Cat of Light


	4. Chapter 4 Not So Good Morning

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and all that good stuff, just my OC.

Constructive criticism is more than welcome! Be sure to drop a review whenever you finish the chapter, they are greatly appreciated.

SPOILER FOR THE CHAPTER/AUTHORESS RAMBLE! Do not read if you're the type who doesn't like knowing what happens before you read anything, if so, read this later: In this chap, I'm gonna go ahead and say it, but, Mia gets a j-o-b! I decided on her particular job (which I won't say, yet) because I wanted it something believable and slightly tied into the story instead of something completely cliche' like her getting an automatic job as a Turk right at the beginning (no offense, to those who do have fics like that; besides, Mia is not the physical kind of person, as you see later in the chapter). So, in a stroke of genius and cruelty towards my own OC, I made her take a job that she would never seem to agree with, but still survive it somehow. I hope all you readers will find it reasonable and readable at the same time.

* * *

Chapter 4 Not So Good Morning, Not so Good Afternoon

I trudged downstairs, yawning the whole way down. It was certain that I wasn't a morning person, as everyone in the household knew. I sat down at the dining table and waited for Mom to set down whatever she had decided to cook for breakfast. With a rush of reality, I realized that I wasn't sitting at my table back at home, but in my temporary home in Edge. With a groan, I snapped out of my crossed memories of reality and whatever reality was now. I hardly ever hallucinated, much less dreamed, about my life BC/Before College, but seeming how I wasn't in the right dimension, hallucinations were an exception for now.

I yawned once more before glancing down at my right forearm. I pulled down the stubborn sleeve of my borrowed pajamas before looking up into the kitchen/dining room in the back of 7th Heaven. I must've followed the scent of breakfast downstairs while trying to wake up, because Tifa was busily cooking along with Marlene trying to help the best a child can while having an adult watching their every move, so as not to make a mess.

This made me smile at the memory of my first time helping out in the kitchen, which sadly was my last time, seeming as my mother didn't want me near the food pantry without constant supervision. Let's just say I got a little happy with the baking flour.

Denzel was wandering around the kitchen, looking for something to do, obviously. It was a wonder where Cloud could be, he seemed to be missing a lot less since the whole Advent Children deal, but he was always off somewhere in the house where no one could bother him. During my whole two days here, I had only seen him maybe four times. This didn't bother me, though, seeming as how I already couldn't stand him.

Tifa finished breakfast, and after fetching a mug of coffee, I sat down to my second homemade breakfast since moving out of my house, back on Earth, at college and a fate of frozen dinners. I dug into the delicious cuisine that was scrambled eggs while tossing manners to the wind.

When I reached for my cup of coffee, my pj sleeve slid down once more. I yanked it back up and tucked part of it between my pointer and middle fingers so it wouldn't slide down any more. It wasn't the fact that it kept sliding down my arm because the top was originally meant to have elbow-length sleeves (which had been stretched out after a long life of usage), but the fact that I was trying my best to hide a strange and rather off-putting mark that I had had since only an afternoon after my arrival to Gaia.

Nevertheless, I tried to act as normal as possible. It wasn't hurting me, it wasn't hurting anyone else, and most importantly: I didn't want to end up in a bad position in only my first few days here. It was enough that I hated conflicts and confrontations, so this only added some wariness to the mix. Plus, Tifa had her hands full enough, juggling 7th heaven, the kids, and, hardest of all, Cloud.

After downing some breakfast, I took my coffee into the living room of the house-section of the building and immediately began shuffling through the newspaper. As soon as I found the job adds, I picked up a nearby pen and began marking which jobs I could be any use of.

"Where did Mia go?" I heard from the kitchen. Marlene had been the clingiest in the household, which struck me as odd since I had no skills when it came to kids. I was the youngest in my family, so I never was exposed to young children. Probably because of Marlene's natural friendliness, she had accompanied me through the house whenever I wasn't accompanying Tifa. I was grateful for a friend, though.

"I'm not sure, sweetie, she may be in the living room, again." Tifa replied, who was aware of my compulsive newspaper viewing.

Since yesterday, I had been looking for vacant apartments and such, but I needed some extra cash first. I worked with Tifa yesterday, but I decided I wasn't too fond of what she had me doing. I'm a lot more useful at computer skills than pretty much everything Tifa set me to work on. I might as well have been better off in the middle of no where, where I couldn't make a mess. My destruction left three broken glasses, an overturned table, and a sink's worth of water on the floor. Tifa decided that it would be a good idea to browse through the jobs-wanted area of the paper.

After days and hours of searching, nothing suited me at all. Almost everything in the paper had to do with some sort of physical-based odd job that immediately ruled me out. I groaned and tossed the paper back on the coffee table. Nibbling on my pen cap, I could only think of one thing to do.

"Hey, Tifa?" I called, aiming my voice at the kitchen.

"Yeah?" she answered, ready to assist me.

"Can you help me fill out a job application?"

* * *

And that was how I became the reluctant teacher of a Middle School's elective class… Yes, MORE children to complicate my life is just the right thing I need.

Turns out Edge isn't a town with job shortages. No wonder with all the debris flying around and buildings crashing during the _Advent Children_ movie. As soon as the school heard I had been in need of a job, they were hot on my tail to hire me. The administration didn't even ask for a college degree, but took me in as soon as they heard I had some computer skill. (Note: SOME computer skill.) I really wasn't opting for this job, but I was talked into it by Tifa and the school principal. They were in high need of a computer teacher and, boom, here comes me falling out of the sky!

Great… Just sunshine and jellybeans great…

I suck at dealing with children! I was the youngest in my family, for crying out loud! There's no way I'm going to be able to handle 8 hours a day of stir-crazy 11-14 year olds…

A few teaching workshops later:

"Hello, class!" I greeted the wide-eyed 6 graders seated at an individual computer. I tugged uncomfortably at my blazer Tifa lent me. "I'm your Computer Application teacher. You can call me, Ms. Mia."

I wrote my name on the marker board behind me as I said it aloud. I turned back to my class who were staring at me… There was no way I was going to reveal my last name to strange children; one could actually be some kind of secret agent that's after me. Out of the blue, I had a quick and sudden vision of all of them turning wild and attacking me. It was a ridiculous notion, of course, they were how old, now?

"Shouldn't you take role?" a girl with blonde pigtails asked me sulkily. Impulsively, I was ready to throw a marker at her, but fought the urge.

"I should, now, shouldn't I?" I laughed awkwardly, picking up the attendance sheet and calling off all the names. The majority of them were here, a minority, not here.

"Who's your husband?" a random girl asked loudly. I was puzzled at this, and didn't know how to react.

"I don't have a husband." I answered.

"Are you divborced?" someone else asked. Something funny was going on…

That's when I turned to the board, quickly and noticed my name. _Mrs. Mia _was scribbled across in green dry-erase ink. I rubbed the "r" off quickly and smiled at my class. They asked way too many personal questions for 12 year olds.

"On with the lesson!" I said before picking up the lesson book the school had issued out to me.

"But, technically, we haven't even started it, yet." Pigtails girl said who was beginning to act high and mighty.

"I know that!" I growled behind a smile. After reading aloud some introductory I directed them in the child's play that was booting up and logging into your computer. After setting the lesson requirements for my newly acquired students I nervously sat behind my desk and looked for some teacherly duty to fulfill. This was my first class, so I had no papers to grade, and I had already sent a student to the office to turn in the attendance… Now what should I do?

A thought crossed my mind: _there's always dictatorship_… Nah, too many lawsuits involved. I need a clean record if I'm going to make it in Gaia, or at least Edge, especially as a school teacher now.

I stretched back and kicked my legs onto my desk. One more paycheck and I can get my own apartment somewhere cheap. First thing's first, though, I just need to survive a few more weeks of this…

* * *

I sank into the front seat of Tifa's car. My first day as a teacher was altogether exhausting and I wanted nothing more than to lie down and forget about everything. Through the rearview mirror I saw Marlene and Denzel exchange looks after some staring at me. I let my school-issued canvas teacher's bag slide off my shoulder and into the car floor.

"So how was your day?" Tifa asked. I wasn't quite sure whether she was asking me or the kids.

"Fine," I muttered along with a chorus of "Good"'s from the two children. I had had Denzel in one of my classes, but he hardly spoke more to me than the blonde recluse that was Cloud.

"Do you like your job so far?" Tifa asked eagerly.

I plastered a smile across my face and answered, "Yes."

The drive home drug out, along with my patience. The stress of responsibility had left me ready to get back home and catch up on my laziness. Plus, my videogame withdrawals were starting to catch up on me, seeming how my thumbs twitched at every familiar sight I saw in Edge that resembled anything from the movie or game. Upon arrival to the 7th Heaven, I found myself automatically stretched across the couch, on reflex, and didn't even know where my feet landed.

"Watch it." Cloud rumbled, reminiscent to our first meeting, as he pushed my feet out of his lap. I muttered something that sounded like an apology before realizing what I just did. Hooooly cow… hooooooooooollllyyy mooing steak cows…

Suddenly it was very hot and I fanned myself awkwardly before resituating myself on the couch and keeping my eyes glued to the television set. I knew my face was fire red but I didn't _dare_ look to see if Cloud noticed. I watched the moving pictures on TV, unaware of what was even on for feeling self-conscious. I was scared to stay in case of further embarrassment, but I was scared to leave for seeming rude.

Wait a minute…. This was the guy who is rude to _me_, so why should I care?

With this thought I got up and made a confident exit as possible. Of course, no exit from the same room as Cloud is complete without an accidental trip… Yeah, so what if I tripped over an electrical chord? I gathered up my dignity and walked out like the lady I think I am. So my day went pretty smooth afterward, seeming how there was no Cloud-sightings. It's kind of funny that he was actually in the living room... Ha ha ha...ha...

I found myself back on my bed staring at the ceiling as usual. This was a growing habit that probably wasn't going to go away soon. I sighed, and began absentmindedly counting imaginary sheep and was at sheep number twenty-six, when I saw Marlene out of the corner of my eye wander in through the open door of my bedroom. I felt her weight next to me, as she imitated the same, stretched out position I was in. She stared at the ceiling a few minutes and after a sigh from me, she struck up a conversation.

"What's it like where you're from?" she asked me. Marlene had asked me repeatedly countless questions about where I came from, but I only revealed everything but the name of country, city, and planet, for that matter, I was originated.

I pondered the question carefully before answering, "Strange."

"Really? How can it be strange?" Marlene asked, probably conjuring all sorts of fantastical visions of where her roomy lived.

"Well, for one thing, the animals are a lot different." I answered, picking my words carefully. It was true, that Earth's animals weren't near as dangerous or weird as those on Gaia. Or for that matter, they weren't near as yellow, now that I remember the chocobos.

"What're they like?" Marlene asked with excitement and wonder sitting up and looking at me with her big, brown eyes.

I had to stop myself from saying "normal", but instead I said, "Just strange, compared to here."

Marlene was silent as she took this in. I wondered if she would keep pressing me for questions about home. It was a wonder she hadn't managed to squeeze out the fact I wasn't from anywhere on the surface of the planet.

"Are you going back?" she asked. There was uncertainty hinted in her voice.

"I don't know, Marlene." I said, just as uncertain, "I don't plan on it."

* * *

The TV flashed the latest news stories as I vegged out on the recliner. I balanced an empty glass of milk in my hands as my eyes steadily glazed over from lack of concentration. It was close to my bedtime and its about time I crashed, but I decided to catch what was on TV before going to bed. Really, though, it wasn't until a more petty news story played on the screen when I got interested.

"-police have caught and interrogated three confirmed members but have yet to get any leads on more society members-."

The news channel flipped at the speed of light to a random documentary as Cloud surfed the channels. I jerked to life, in a flurry from the change in shows.

"Put it back!" I sputtered, trying to keep my milk glass from crashing to the floor as I sat up in my seat.

"Why?" he asked, begrudgingly, but switched the channels back, anyway. The same news woman hadn't left and was still rambling on about a odd, new suspicious society.

"-some of there activity includes strange summoning rituals, unknown to any specialists, and seem to center there beliefs around Jenova and what they call, 'The One-Winged Angel'." The woman said before conversing a bit on the subject with a fellow news anchor-man and leaving the subject, but not after assuring that the public was safe and the cult was seemingly harmless, just suspicious…

"They have no clue what they're getting into." Cloud stated, before changing the channel to the documentary that had caught his interest, earlier. I only gazed at the TV, not focusing on anything particular but pondering the subject. My body had gone rigid with my concentrated thought.

"What's with you?"

The question startled me out of my trance, and startled me again to realize that it came from Cloud. I was pulled from my train of thought and back into reality.

"Nothing… just thinking…" I replied, trying to stay inconspicuous about my contemplatinos. I hoped he wouldn't pay me any attention, but I wasn't about to run away, this time. It was awhile before he replied.

"So, where exactly are you from?" he asked me. I mentally groaned and rolled my eyes, hoping the darkness of the unlit room hid my facial expressions. However, the inquiry did startle me some and I racked my brains for a quick lie. I had been getting that question, a lot, but not from him, plus, he said he wanted an exact answer…

"Um… no where you've been before…" I said weakly. The statement was exactly what I didn't want to say.

"It didn't seem like it." Cloud replied, "Why can't you just go home, though? Do you have to stay here?"

The question was so sudden and it struck me somewhere deep, not cutting like a knife but still scratching like paper. I didn't know how to answer it without looking completely stupid, though. I glanced around the room, unwittingly, and my speech was beginning to falter as I tried to make up an excuse. I made a perfect fool of myself, stuttering and sputtering, all the while trying to make up a lie and Cloud was watching me act stupid.

"I'm sorry." I eventually managed to choke out of myself. Even I was surprised by what I said. I didn't even know the reason for why I was apologizing. "I have no where else to go."

It was a while before he spoke to me again. "You're not up to anything, are you?" he asked interrogatively.

I felt my brown eyes widen. I wasn't sure whether he was confronting me, or just joking. I hoped he was just joking, but his tone had said otherwise.

"What would I be up to, if I was, that is?" I said, a little uncertainly, which hopefully didn't reveal me a total fake. He seemed so sure of himself, unlike me.

"Don't you think it's just sort of strange, once you think about it? You, suddenly showing up, no way to get home, no place to go, and most of all, you seem to be reluctant about telling us where you came from." Cloud said. He was almost indifferent, but something told me that he was ready to tear into me if I turned out to be trouble.

I could feel my heart sinking as the words sunk in, but when they finally did a new feeling came over me. A rare anger that only comes from confronting stubborn bosses on videogames welled up in me. I've been feeling his unwelcoming aura ever since I arrived, and it had not yet ceased. My own thoughts roared at me about how none of this is my fault. It's not like I'm looking to hurt anybody as soon as they turn their back. Besides, a part of me presented, he's been so rude from the beginning; I have yet to cause any harm.

Suddenly, I felt my heart fill to the brim with all the emotions that had been stirring in me. My mind was so flooded and my heart was so full, I felt like I would burst at any minute.

Something did crack, though.

"Yeah, it's strange! This whole place is strange! It's not my fault I've gotten into this, and there's no turning back, seeming how I'm too deep into everything!" I said, my voice rising with every word. I was beginning to feel more and more irritated and my body trembled. Thoughts and arguments crowded my mind. "None of this makes any sense, to me, how I got here, what got me here. You can't just expect me to know everything!"

"You can't expect me to just stand aside and let in a stranger! How do I know you're not going to steal from us, or not? How do I know whether you're going to turn your back on us?" Cloud said, his voice rose, but keeping steady, unlike mine and his eyes bored into my own. His words conjured up a silence between us, and I had just realized that I was standing.

I sat down, dejectedly. He spoke again, apparently not finished with me.

"This is my family, and I'm not about to let someone in between me and them." He said, sternly, on his feet and facing me. His words both hurt me and made me rejoice in the fact he had began to think of the odd crowd as family. I still couldn't help but feel such feelings of self-loathing stir up in me from long ago.

My lips refused to part as I tried to speak. Words caught in my throat, and I found myself at a loss. How could I answer him? How could I still be standing here?

I felt my cheeks get hot, and my body trembled less violently as I felt a growing pit of emotion in my stomach. Cloud was still waiting for me to open my big mouth.

I finally replied, but slowly, words coming little by little. "I…I don't want to hurt your family. I'm not here to do that… It's just, everything's been so confusing to me… and there are so many things I can't explain, and even if I did, I'd just screw up everything. It's too confusing for me to understand…" That was the best I could get out. I had been sobered up immediately at Cloud's previous outburst, and I couldn't believe that any words could come out of my mouth.

After finishing, I did the thing that I had become best at lately: run away. I tread the stairs to the second floor and gathered speed as I burst into my room, slamming the door behind me and turning the lock. I knew full well that it wasn't fair just to run away and lock the world out like that, but I was too scared to go any further.

I threw myself on my bed and tears ran down my face as I lay staring at the ceiling in the same position I've been taking up lately. Frustration burned in my chest as I tried to uselessly decode my thoughts and situation again, but amid the internal chaos, my head felt strangely clear. I growled and tossed onto my side. A perfect copy of me stared back from the mirror above the dresser I used so often. Dark eyes, once brown, gazed back at me, a negative energy was extremely noticeable, in them. I ran a hand through my hair and growled at a single white line amidst the brassy strands.

Great, grey hair and I'm only twenty four…

* * *

Oh my gosh. SO much happened in this chapter and I didn't even realize it! First, there's the job searching, then BAM, Mia's all grown up and teaching! PLUS, she has a big blow-out with our beloved Goldilocks/Cloud! Ugh, sorry if it seemed rushed. I was typing like a friggin' energizer bunny and this chapter best get reviews! lol!

;)

Ninja Cat of Light


	5. Chapter 5 Rollercoaster Ride

Yeah, so there's sudden seriousness in this chapter compared to some of the stuff in the last. The plot thickens (finally)! I don't own Final Fantasy 7 and junk, just the oc and junk. No spoilers for this chapter, so just go on and read the story now .

Btw, sorry, if Tifa's turning out to be a Mary-Sue. The nicer canon characters are harder for me to portray. I'm scared that I'll end up giving her a negative quality that she doesn't have, so bare with me!

* * *

Chapter 5 Rollercoaster Ride

The following weekend, I confined myself to my room. I only opened the door for Marlene, who was continually conversing with me, and was the vessel in which Tifa would send me meals. Her friendliness kept me from feeling truly lonely and her innocence kept me from feeling guilty about being seen by her. Why is it children make the best friends?

"Are you okay?" Marlene asked me, as she waited for me to finish my meal. I knew she wasn't the only one wondering about my sudden change in habit.

"I'm completely fine! Just getting some work done, is all." I lied between bites of food, trying to keep a chipper tone. I had done zero work the entire time I was in my room and was posing like I was taking a break whenever Marlene would tip on in.

"When are you going to be my teacher?" Marlene asked, excitedly.

I answered, keeping answers to minimum, "As soon as you're in the sixth grade."

I was in hiding, at the moment, from Cloud and had been managing to do a good job, seeming how it was already lunchtime. I could tell Marlene had delivered the news that I was working in my room by the cease of footsteps at my door, and I felt a little more at ease with my behavior. Truly, I was too much of a coward to get caught by Cloud and risk another incident from yesterday.

But in all actuality, I was pretty content with staying in one room. I had spent most of my free time back in High School, playing videogames in my room as soon as I persuaded my parents to let me have my own TV. College free-time was spent just the same, but I stayed locked up in my dorm-room instead of a single room. Being a hermit wouldn't have bothered me one bit, if I was ever sealed into a fate like that.

However, there things I knew I couldn't avoid, at the moment. It wouldn't be all day before I would get at least one other visitor. So when the time finally came, it was four o' clock in the afternoon when Tifa opened the door to my room.

"Can I come in?" she asked respectfully, poking her head in. After getting a confirmation from me, she slipped in. "You need anything?" Tifa asked sincerely, ready to assist me.

"I'm fine," I said as my eyes darted around for a means of escape.

"Is anything bothering you?" she asked me. I felt the beginnings of a guilt trip as I prepared to lie.

"No, I'm fine." I repeated. Tifa finally smiled and left the room, but I could tell there was some concern on her face.

I could feel a guilt trip coming on as time dragged on. My own thoughts ate at me continually, as I wondered whether Tifa was worrying too much and how I had been lying so much lately. It seemed childish to hide all day like I was doing, but we are talking about me, right?

After at least an hour of contemplation, I finally, with a groan, drug my feet out of my room and down the hall. I was groggy and slightly disoriented from doing absolutely nothing all day, and laid a hand on the wall to keep my balance as I staggered around. I got to the end of the hall, though, and stopped at the head of the staircase when I heard Tifa and Cloud talking. Being a chronic eavesdropper, I decided to tune into what was going on.

"She's been holed up all day, today, Cloud. I don't know what's gotten into her." Tifa's hushed voice said from the kitchen. Her words were a little harsher than usual, but she was talking with Cloud, after all.

"Probably still pouting." He answered. My jaw dropped in outrage, but I clamped a hand over it to keep me from being heard.

"Don't tell me this is your fault." Tifa sighed.

"She started it."

"So it is your fault?"

"I said 'she started it'." Cloud said. My anger was beginning to burn a hole through me. Justice must be wrought… chaos afterward…

"What happened?" Tifa demanded, trying to become a mediator between us.

"Don't ask me, I just asked her where she was from and she got all nervous about it. I was just trying to talk to her and she started to get worked up over it."

Lies!

"Cloud, can't you see she might be stressed out over this?"

Thank you, Tifa!

"I could be stressed, too. She's practically a stranger, and I, honestly, don't trust her."

La la la la la! Trying not to get angry!

"Still, she's probably got it hard wherever she's from. Besides, look at all of the people we're friends with."

Psh, exactly!

I snapped out of my train of thought when I heard one of them approaching. I dashed to the bathroom before I could be spotted and locked the door behind me. After I felt the coast was clear, I eased out and made my way downstairs like I hadn't heard a thing. Tifa spotted me as I came into the kitchen and her eyes lit up at seeing me finally emerged from my cave.

"Hi," she greeted me as I fixed myself a glass of water.

"Hey," I said, taking the glass with me as I decided to go back to my room, seeming how there was nothing for me to do.

I made my way up the stairs, carelessly, and picked up my knees higher than necessary. Just as I was about to make the top step, my foot missed it, not used to the change in my stride, sending me to the ground. I heard a loud crash as I realized that I just broke yet another glass, and water soaked my clothes as I scrambled back on my feet, cutting myself on a piece of broken glass in the process.

I heard Tifa slam down her chopping knife and her hurried footsteps towards the direction of the sound, but, to my displeasure, Cloud was faster. I bit my lip as I tried to pick up some of the larger shards, but ended up slipping in the water.

"You're hopeless," Cloud muttered as he jerked me to my feet. I hid my bleeding hand behind my back and tried picking up the pieces.

"Yes." I replied, matter of factly. I resumed clean-up, but was shooed away by Cloud.

"Just stand back, we don't need you to hurt yourself." He said, in a rush to get me back. I had to dig my nails into my other hand to bite back all my comments. "How did you even do this?"

"I slipped." I said, standing away from the mess as Cloud gathered pieces of glass. I turned on my heel to leave, having my fill of Cloud, for the day.

"By the way," I heard him add, but in a tone that seemed like he wouldn't mind if I wasn't listening, "Sorry… about yesterday…"

Although no one saw it, I was smiling like a greedy raccoon. I had to force myself from skipping to my room as I made my way, but when I passed by the bathroom, I remembered that I had a rather bloody cut on my hand and stopped by to bandage it up. I slightly pranced into the door and saw my smug smile as I opened the medicine cabinet/mirror above the sink.

After rummaging for rubbing alcohol and bandages, I rolled up my sleeve to get a better work area. My rash had seemed to have grown darker, and it was an awful sight. I applied pressure on it, testing for any pain. No shock came at all, and it didn't hurt in the slightest.

"Hmph," I commented, setting to work on disinfecting my cut. I wouldn't get worked up about it until it started to hurt me. A little discoloration was nothing to get worried over, right?

After wrapping the cut in gauze, I made my way to my room. As I entered, I glanced into the mirror. My sleeve was still partially rolled up and revealed some of my current rash. Wondering if it could be noticeable, I examined it from a farther point of view. Even then, the dark spots were like splashes of night on a ghost. I sighed as I rolled my sleeve back down, making sure to securely cover it.

What was wrong with me? It wasn't serious yet, but I was never one to get sick. I hardly ever caught the flu as a kid, yet I caught some crazy rash that doesn't even hurt. Even if seems okay, for now, something's up.

* * *

I shouted as I jerked awake, sending me straight off the side of my bed. I tried to blink off the grogginess that clouded my vision before I realized that I was swinging over the edge of the mattress, swaddled in a tangle of blankets and sheets. My own pajama pants were twisted oddly around my ankles, binding them together, somehow. With a sigh, I blew some hair out of my face before flailing my arms in an attempt to untangle myself. Like magic, and a sudden jolt, the sheets unexpectedly came loose and I fell the short length to the floor with a thump. My stiff legs stood me up and joints all over my body popped as I stretched. I slapped my own ear a little, to see if I could relieve the ringing that had just began.

It was finally the second day of the weekend and I had made it through the whole of it, ready to sleep in but only to be woken up earlier than I expected by a simple dream. I caught my reflection in the mirror and only sighed at my bedraggled state. It had been rough the past few nights, not counting Cloud episodes, and, right now, sleep seemed like an unreachable oasis. Last night, I had been inflicted with reoccurring nightmares that deprived me of what little sleep I could catch up on.

I glanced at the digital clock on my nightstand. It flashed in blocky green numerals, 6:18. No one was bound to be awake at this unhealthy hour, at least in this house. I heaved another sigh as I checked my rash's progress. Spots had moved from mid-forearm and covered my elbow now; I could also tell it was heading for my wrist. Today, I needed to mention something to Tifa about it, because it seems like it hasn't subsided one bit.

I pulled on some clothes and tried to mentally line up my schedule for the day. No matter how much I tried to think, though, I couldn't find anything that would keep me busy, today. Boredom was a big problem for me, especially when there was a restricted access to videogames. On a whim, I stepped quietly down the hall and back, even dancing a little for the spite of it, and then stood outside of Tifa's bedroom door, staring at the wood grain.

Cloud's apology from yesterday was still fresh on my mind, and had emboldened me a little. Although, I think it was a Tifa induced apology, it was an apology, after all. Still, I didn't know whether to feel grateful or smug about it…

I huffed as I got no results for a few minutes, and tiptoed back down the hallway and downstairs. I felt a need to stretch my legs, but I felt sheepish about doing so, early in the morning. I stared at the fridge and paced in the kitchen a little, humming all the while. I spotted a crayon drawing one of the kids and spaced out for a bit, reminiscing of my own childhood.

Visions flashed in my mind. A reoccurring nightmare played out in my mind, finally free of its nighttime bonds. I shook my head, clearing the thoughts from my head as I turned away from the dining table where the drawing lay. Spotting, a sticky-note pad, I ripped off one of the small, yellow sheets from it and scribbled a message on it.

"Out for a walk.

-Mia"

After doodling a couple of smiley faces, I eventually stuck my note on a cabinet door and departed. At first, I was a little hesitant to leave, my hand hovering over the doorknob, but I forced myself out the front door and steered myself to the sidewalk. After pondering a moment as to where to go, the first place I had been to on Gaia floated across my mind.

The church always seemed to have a connection to almost anything, especially the unusual. Could Aerith's church hold some answers to how I came here? If so, I couldn't spare to just stand around and miss the chance to investigate further. Even if there isn't anything there, it'll still be cool to see it again.

Finally, stepping onto the sidewalk, I laid out a mental map as I made my way to a place that might give me answers.

* * *

I had no clue how long a walk it had truly been. Although, if there was such thing as negative athletic, that would be me. I was glad that I had kept things at a leisurely pace, even if it took more time, because if I hadn't, I would've fell out halfway in fatigue.

I rested my hands on my knees, slightly bent, and breathed slowly. Feeling satisfied, I reveled in the walk I had just took, which would make the first one in months, not counting walking to classes. Through all my resting, I gazed up at my destination. A broken church stared back down at me, and I closed my eyes as I hoped that their might be an answer, somewhere in there.

Just as I closed my eyes, visions returned to me. They were clearer, and I was able to make out flames, but nothing more. My eyelids shot open, refusing to live in the nightmares anymore, and I studied the church once more. Its stained glass windows, once whole, glimmered in the early sun, lighting the gray dawn with an array of color. The grand, broken stone still stood proudly, even in its shattered state. This was the place that I had landed first on Gaia, about two weeks ago. To be honest, it felt like two years already.

I walked in through the open doorway, where the cavernous walls raised high around me and shaded the morning light from flooding in. You could tell the ceilings were once arched, but skies had replaced the grand roof, through time. Displaced wooden benches were scattered from battles waged in the sacred hall and pieces of the pale stone laid splintered in a variety of shapes and sizes.

I could feel the difference from when I had first set foot here. Not only was I able to hold an admiration for the architect, but I was able to see past my panicked feelings from long ago, and took on reverence for the place Aerith once walked. I advanced slowly, taking in my surroundings, my clumsy footsteps echoed, making them seem more civilized than usual.

But as I got further to the heart of the church, an acrid scent filled my nose where I thought the scent of flowers should have. My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to decipher the reason for the nasal-burning scent. Maybe it was my imagination, or allergies. I used to have a weakness to pollen. I shook off the thought and walked further, but the stench only grew stronger.

"What is this?" I whispered into the silence, too quiet for my wavering voice to resonate against the walls. I covered my nose with my hands to stifle the smell filling the air. After noticing its presence, I approached the flowerbed, but the flowers seemed to be unnaturally bright. Yellows and greens cut my vision and made my eyes ache. I shook my head in defeat and backed away from the flowers, my symptoms slowly subsiding. My attention was then turned to the pool in the floor. Maybe I could get close to it?

With a purpose, I slowly stepped toward it, still holding my nose for the flowers' stench. Although, I could catch a whiff of it, the scent didn't fully penetrate my senses as it had earlier. My stride quickened with relief, but I felt a tugging at the edge of my consciousness.

"What's up with me, today?" I said, exasperatedly, slowing down to a stop.

My very mind seemed to be twitching now, making thinking hard and even uncomfortable. It was the strangest sensation, and I wondered whether I could be experiencing an early death. The thought scared me, and I decided to take a few deep breaths to calm down. Even though I was finally convinced that I wasn't dying, I still felt my heart beating fast and hard against my ribcage. I brang my free hand to my chest and felt the thumping of my heartbeats and tried to steady my fast breathing.

I staggered a bit as I tried to walk things off, and felt my knees beginning to give out. Now, I was scared, and couldn't help but panic a little as I sank to my knees. Formulating a plan was out of the question, because my mind's eye kept replacing my real vision with a nightmare that needed to be forgotten.

Dark visions of flames surrounding flowing silver hair and black feathers filled my awareness. Why was I dreaming about Sephiroth? As the visions flashed more and more vivid, I was suddenly aware that I hadn't been dreaming about Sephiroth, all along.

Suddenly, a searing pain at my right arm drowned out all of my senses, pulling me out of my visions. I clasped the area that hurt with my left hand and I was vaguely aware of cold stone on my cheek from where I had fallen to the floor. Only later did I realize that I was screaming, and in agonizing seconds, I finally passed out from the pain, plunging into a dreamless relief of unconsciousness.

* * *

Oh my gosh! I am so proud of myself updating more and more often! Well, more often than usual, that is. This chapter just turned everything serious, didn't it? As I said earlier, the plot thickens! (Dramatic music is needed, I believe). Please, drop a review and stick around for the next chapter. I enjoy writing for those who read!

**Note: I'm having a tough time deciding whether Mia should be paired up with one of the canon characters. I would like to hear the opinion of my readers on this. Please, say so, if you think she should, or not!**

Feeling more sophisticated than usual,

Ninja Cat of Light


	6. Chapter 6 Wake Up

Yay! New chapter! So I was a day late from my set time, but at least I finally updated! Okay, so I don't own Final Fantasy 7, just the OC.

Warning: Chapter is a lot tamer than my others! But the story will not end, yet! This is mainly getting Mia integrated into society a little more, so, please, stick around!

* * *

Chapter 6 Wake Up

At first I thought I was floating in the ocean, but I realized that it was just my head pounding once my thoughts rearranged themselves in order. The headache created a floating sensation. I felt soft, cotton sheets under my hands as my senses stirred. Wherever I was, it smelled sterile and all the sounds I heard seemed so corporate and out of place. I could feel a faint stinging on my right arm and memories of my ordeal at Aerith's church returned, like shadows, back to my mind.

My eyelids were stubborn as I tried to open them. They were still heavy from sleep and my body was still exhausted, but my will outdid the two. I opened my eyes to white tiled ceilings and white plaster walls. The bed sheets covering me were white and matched the white bandages around my right arm.

I was able to comprehend that I must've been in a hospital and wondered that, maybe, I could be back home. My thoughts were doubtful, though, when I was able to turn my head to a window, which was a chore itself. The outermost wall had tall windows that overlooked what I could perceive to be none other, than the city of Edge. For some reason, though, I wasn't disappointed.

My eyes closed on their own as I fell, softly, back to sleep. When I did return to, though, I caught a nurse fiddling with a transparent IV bag that was supplying me with whatever medicine that was necessary. It took her a bit before she noticed my return to consciousness.

"Well, good morning, there." She said good-naturedly. Good morning?

"Morning?" I mumbled weakly. How long had I been out?

"What other time would it be?" she asked, setting up my IV bag and brushing back her brown hair. After hanging the bag on its peg on a long silver pole, she began arranging some flowers in a vase on one of the counters.

"I didn't know…" I said, as each word came slowly. I could tell my voice was weak from not using it in some time. I honestly didn't have a clue the day or time, and my body clock was still stuck on Sunday 7:30 a.m.

"Hm. Well, I guess no one's seen you, yet. I'll be right back with your doctor, now." With that, the nurse said leaving me by myself. The door she shut behind her was white like almost everything else. Things were beginning to seem so bland, color-wise.

I wasted my time by surveying the room. It seemed like any other hospital room; a bed, a couple of counters and cabinets, and a bunch of medical technology that I had no clue how to operate. My attention was turned to the medicine in the IV which was completely transparent, but had a shimmer that set it apart from other liquids I'd seen before. Remembering the rash, I was able to lift my head off my pillow to get a look at my arm which was bandaged neatly and I could see a dark stain seeping through the gauze. I was startled from my observations when the door to my room opened suddenly, and a classically dressed salt-and-pepper haired doctor entered my room. The middle-aged doctor introduced himself as Dr. Morin.

"Hello, Mia." the doctor greeted me, while peering at a clipboard in his hand. He was dressed in a traditionally white coat. His arrival was sudden and slightly startled me. The nurse from earlier shut the door behind him and set back to her other duties in the room which I hoped was only temporarily mine. I smiled weakly, in greeting, hoping that I could save my words for when I need them.

"So, do you know why you're here?" he asked me, trying to keep me informed. It probably wouldn't be hard for me to guess. I managed to shake my head, signaling a denial. "I thought so." He said, pulling up a chair from a corner of the room where there was also a couch.

"Turns out that nasty rash on your arm is a classic case of Geostigma." He said, a little too comfortable for my taste. My heart jumped as I heard the name of the life-threatening disease that formed the basis of the _Advent Children _movie plot.

"…Stigma?" I asked my voice cracking as I strained to speak.

"Yup, but it's no problem now that we've got you in here. We've got you medicated for it, and it'll be completely healed in no time." The doctor explained, easing my fears. He could still see my confusion on my face, though, and answered my unasked question.

"You probably weren't exposed to that nice little rain last year, were you?" he asked me, receiving another shaking head from me. "Well, the only cure was to come into contact with it. However, scientists did manage to preserve and reproduce some as a vaccine against the stigma, knowing that there might be someone who didn't receive a cure already. It's not uncommon for our hospital to get a few a patients with the Geostigma, every now and then."

"'Kay." I answered, not sure what else to say, and not strong enough to say a whole lot.

"All you really need to do is wait a little longer, about one more day, so we can keep an eye on you, and you'll be on your way out." The doctor said, "You may not get rid of it just fast enough, because you let it get so far and the medicine we've got isn't as good as the real thing, but, eventually, everything will be like you never even had it."

"'Kay." I repeated, feeling at ease. Then, I had a thought cross my mind, and mustered enough energy to ask one question. "How did I get here?"

The doctor chuckled quietly to himself, like he had got that question many times before, and then gave me a straight answer. "Your roommates, Tifa Lockhart and Cloud Strife, brought you here. They said you'd left in the morning and found you around noon when you didn't show up for lunch."

I blinked as I registered this. It was typical for Tifa to know something was wrong whenever I wasn't around for lunch. Cloud had most likely been shanghaied into the search.

"We couldn't find a birth certificate on you or a social security number by the information they provided us," the doctor said, pausing and flipping through a few papers on his clipboard. My stomach was doing back flips. "but since all that mess a couple of years ago-" he said then put into a more hushed tone, "with Sephiroth and all that- a lot of information was destroyed, so don't get upset about all of this, we'll just give you a new number and set you up, and life will go on."

I was mentally gaping at the chance card I had just drawn. I couldn't believe the luck I had just received and I just laid there, staring at the ceiling and just beginning to realize I was in a hospital gown.

"Do you feel up to any visitors this afternoon? Your friends seemed pretty eager to see you when I last saw them." The doctor said, getting his pen ready to jot down anything.

"Sure." I said, still in awe over my fortunate turn out and backless gown.

"All right, well, that pretty much wraps things up. I'll see you later." The middle-aged doctor said, bidding me goodbye. I didn't bother to return the farewell, but still stared at the ceiling, feeling relief rain down on me. The nurse stayed behind, adjusting a few things, casting a glance at me, and then left me to myself.

After I got over my initial shock I began to notice some of the stuff I was provided. The hospital supplied me with a TV, but I soon didn't even bother and took a nap instead. Although I was a videogame addict, I didn't care for television shows, just the occasional news story. The hospital did provide a number of things, other than TV, including lunch, which made me miss Tifa's well mastered homemade culinary achievements.

Finally, visiting hours rolled in, and a nurse let Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel into my room. As the door opened, Tifa was smiling, but the two kids looked a little more long-faced, that was mainly Marlene, though.

"Hey-," I began, but was quickly cut off.

"It'll be okay, Mia! Denzel got better, so you'll get better, too!" Marlene said who was a lot more worried about me than I was, about myself. Denzel only looked at her with an expression of embarrassment, eyes wide and cheeks red.

"Sweetie, Mia's not that sick." Tifa quickly explained to Marlene, who was promptly beside my bed.

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine." I added. My voice was almost to its usual and my speech was barely slowed. "I think they're gonna let me out soon, anyway."

"The desk told us earlier that you were scheduled to leave by tomorrow morning." Tifa said, pulling up a chair for herself.

"Ugh, thank goodness, the food's terrible." I said, opening up more than usual to keep everyone at ease. "Besides, there's not much to do, and I'm probably missing work. What day is it?"

"Tuesday," Marlene answered before Tifa could get a word in.

"Wow, I was here this long?" I said, unknowingly, while counting up the days of my stay. Then, I decided to change the subject, "So where's Cloud?"

"House sitting for me, Denzel would rather leave the house before he would, at least now, that is." Tifa said, subtly dropping a hint that things weren't always like it is. I understood the lead way better than she could have ever imagined, though.

* * *

Upon my arrival, I jerked a pink balloon along, as I entered 7th Heaven. Marlene had insisted on getting me a present, and I wasn't about to decline one, either, but I planned to let her have it as soon as I got tired of the fuchsia sphere. I held the door open for Denzel and Marlene as we entered after Tifa went in before me. I winced when I realized what hand, I had used to prop open the door, though. My right arm was still a little tender but wasn't near as bad as it had been at first. In fact, some of the spots had subsided, clearing off my wrist and elbow. I let myself in, and closed the door behind me.

"Oh, it feels so good to be back!" I said aloud, stretching my arms into the air after closing the door behind me. Nothing like a near-death experience to get you a little more extroverted.

"So, you're back?" I heard a voice too deep to be Denzel's but too male to be Tifa's ask me from the doorway to the living room.

"Yup," I said, not even looking at Cloud. The blonde was not worthy.

"That's all you're going to say? Even after I went out of my way and took all that time just to take you to the hospital?"

I had my mouth open, to shoot back an angry comment, before I noticed Cloud had a playful smirk on his face. Like a splash of cold water, I realized he was joking with me. I noticed that I had let go of my balloon, and it was lying sideways on the ceiling.

"Hey, Mia, what would you like for lunch?" I heard Tifa call from the kitchen. I chose to reply to her, because I wasn't even sure what to say to Cloud.

"Anything! I'm starving!" I replied, while making my way to the kitchen, hoping Cloud would figure out that he was dismissed. After listing off some choices of lunch, Tifa set to work fixing lunch and shooed me away when I tried to help her.

"It's probably best you don't work too much." She said kindly.

"Oh, it's no problem!" I said, trying to help prepare food.

Tifa was still solid about me not cooking. "No, I don't want you overworking yourself already!" and shooed me out of the kitchen… Good move, Tifa!

I set off to the living room, which Cloud had vacated, and picked up a newspaper. I wielded a yellow highlighter as I began looking for any apartment complexes cheap enough for me. Tifa had set me up a bank account after leaving the hospital, and I even had my very own social security number to boast for! It's surprising that they actually have social security numbers in Edge, but lately, you couldn't help but be surprised by everything. My paychecks were now safely being saved up for a decent apartment somewhere close to 7th Heaven. All my choices had been highlighted in the newspaper and I was planning to borrow Tifa's car, next week for a tour of my choices.

"Dinner's ready!" Tifa called, as my nose caught the warm scents of mealtime. I rushed from my place on the graying couch and to the well-missed feast laid out on the table. After scarfing down dinner, I offered to help once more, but was shooed out… once more. So I grabbed my highlighter and newspaper and decided to go to my room with it.

I found myself in that familiar place where I was lying, spread-eagle, on my bed and staring at the ceiling. I smiled at my never-dying habit and at the wooden planks of my bedroom ceiling. It was a shame that I'd have to leave sooner or later… hopefully it would be later.

Yup, not only was I going to be able to say good-bye to my nasty Geostigma, but, on top of it all, I'm starting to really feel at home.

* * *

EEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW! Sorry, if it was ultra-fluff at the end and if the chapter was really slow. Btw, this is not the end (mwa ha ha)! Yeah, keep reading the story, blah, blah, blah, leave a review, blah, blah, blah, you get it!

Ninja Cat of Light


	7. Chapter 7 Encounters of the Strange Kind

Alright, so this chapter may have came just a little bit later than desired, but I hope the readers like it! Also I have decided on whether Mia will end up with anyone or not. However, you must keep reading to find out! Oh, yeah, and I changed the summary, too, so don't worry about that!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or such things.

* * *

Chapter 7 Encounters of the Strange Kind

It was obvious that I was just as anxious as my students for the bell to ring. I tapped my pencil, watching the minute hand make its slow journey to signal the end of school. The stupid thing wasn't going fast enough, and I wanted to get out of the schoolhouse as soon as possible, so I could go check out some apartment buildings.

"Can you let us out early?" an eighth grader complained.

"Hm…" I mumbled, purposefully inaudible.

"Come on! Please?" they asked again.

"Nm…"

Finally, the bell shrilly rang, marking the end of school and I gathered up my leftover work and stuffed it into my canvas bag. My students rushed out into the hall, not even caring to know whether I had let them out, or not. I never bothered to make them wait for my dismissal.

"Hey, Denzel!" I called, when I spotted a mess of brown hair in the crowd of tweens. Denzel slowed and waited for me to catch up with him.

"Tell Tifa that I'm not gonna be coming home with all of you, today." I said quickly, trying to keep up with the wayward boy who was still walking just slow enough for me to catch up.

"Why?" he asked, puzzled at my request.

"I'm gonna check out some apartments a few streets away; I can walk home, anyway." I said, despite the weather warnings.

Denzel just nodded his head and left me, and after watching him go a little ways, I went opposite of his direction, setting out on my way. I looked up at the sky, as I walked out of the front doors of the school house. It was a darker shade of blue, than usual, and more clouds were rolling in. I decided that if I didn't poke around, I'd be able to beat the rain before I got home. Besides, what's a little rain? With that, I left the school campus on foot.

My blazer collar tried to fly up with the breeze, and I flipped it back down. The sidewalk I was taking was slightly crowded, but straight forward and I didn't have any trouble switching from street to street. My canvas bag slapped against my leg from the weight of ungraded papers, so I pulled it to where the strap was over my shoulder, in a much more comfortable position. The sun was shaded by some clouds, and it looked a little more like rain. I walked on, anyway.

A few streets later, as I approached my destination, the crowds started to thin out and I was able to spot the light gray apartment complex that was my destination for today. I changed my plan to walk back home, after finishing, and maybe pick up some dinner since I might be a little late.

I entered the building, and took a good look around. It wasn't the best, but it was the best I could _find_ so far, overall, though, it was satisfactory. After looking around, I asked the desk about rent and left. Everything seemed fine as far as fine goes in Edge, but the rent was pricey and would take a lot of time to save up a meager teacher's salary for. I sighed as I walked out, and decided to walk down to a coffee shop.

It had been a long time since I had a decent cup of coffee, seeming how I always sufficed with instant coffee back in college, and, even if Tifa was the best cook, her coffee's flavor was pretty weak, for my taste. The earthy scents of espresso smelled so good that I couldn't help but traipse on in. I shoved the glass door open, and resolved to only stop for coffee then go straight home… until I smelled their croissants. So I decided on only a croissant and coffee until I got a little hungry for dessert. Then, I fought and fought the urge to order a tasty looking piece of pie that I noticed one of the other customers had, but after reminding myself of the over-priced rent I needed to save up for, I paid the bill and tore myself away from the warm coffee shop.

I shivered, and wrapped my arms around myself. It had gotten colder as the afternoon got later, and clouds were forming a thicker shroud, overhead. I thought it'd be best to get home before it gets any later so I wouldn't get rained on. I set off home, with a quick pace.

After walking for a few minutes, I felt a raindrop hit my nose. I wiped the water off with my hand, but then another raindrop landed on the crown of my head and then on my shoulder. I groaned as rain began falling from the sky, and I hugged my canvas bag to myself, covering it with my blazer. Before I knew it, I was soaked and my hair hung down in wet ropes, darkened from dark brassy brownish blonde, to a dark coco brown. I quickly darted under a nearby awning as I waited for the rain to let up, but ended up bumping into a man holding a cup of soda, spilling it on my right sleeve.

"Watch it!" he said, before entering the revenue office, but not after giving me a disgusted look.

"I didn't mean to…" I said, as I quickly pushed up my sleeve and checked my bandages. They were soaked with the brown cola, and I unwrapped my arm, hastily. It had been at least a month since my visit to the hospital and the doctor said I could've taken the bandages off last week, but I had left them on, because the discoloration seemed to have stopped healing two weeks ago. Although the spots were off of my elbow, that's as healed as it was and I might as well take them off now if I didn't want it covered in soda. I unrolled my sleeve, covering up the stigma coloration, so as not to attract unwanted attention and watched the rain, hoping it would stop sometime soon.

With no luck, I was about to go into the revenue office and ask to use the phone, but tarried outside a little longer. Feeling pressured to get home, I stepped out into the rain, and ended up running home, pulling my blazer up over my head. Soon even my blazer was soaked through, so I stopped under another awning to a store and tried to wait out the rain a little more. I regretted neglecting to get a new cell phone, as I shivered under the awning.

That's when I noticed someone else also take shelter from the rain and they joined me under the awning. I smiled faintly at them, trying not to look too friendly or too intimidating. The man only stared at me, his face showing no emotion. His thin frame was soaked from the rain and his hair was also darkened from the downpour.

I felt extremely uncomfortable for the five or six minutes we were both under the awning. I was never fond of strangers, and this man with a graying five o' clock shadow looked no friendlier than any other person unfamiliar to me. I pulled my blazer tighter around me and shivered from something other than cold. His bleak eyes didn't leave me, so I decided to beat it.

Just as I was stepping out into the rain, he spoke to me.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked. His voice had no emotion either.

"Yeah, bye." I said, trying to get away.

"Where are you going, Mia?" he asked me. I stopped dead in my tracks. I was hardly known in this town, and hoped that he was just a father of one of my students.

"Home." I said, not bothering to ask him how he knew my name.

"Is that truly your home?" he asked me. This guy was really creeping me out.

"Yeah, as true as any other gets." I said, not even sure what my own come-back meant.

He chuckled coldly, if that was possible. It was like he was so familiar with me, but I didn't know him at all.

"Do you need anything from me?" I asked. I was tired of playing games.

"There's a lot we need from you." He said, but turned and walked away, leaving me a few feet from the shelter of the awning.

We? What does he mean we? I decided to head home, scared to stick around anywhere, any longer. I squeaked, though, when a flash of lightning was accompanied by a boom of thunder, and pressed myself against a building, just barely under the roof of it. Apparently, I wasn't just one for disliking strangers, but I didn't like storms either.

"I've gotta get home!" I said, shaking my head, searching for a place to step out under the sheets of rain.

As my feet were trying to make up their mind, my eyes noticed a jet black car, with black-tinted windows slowing considerably down on the street, compared to the rest of traffic. I watched it warily, hoping not to have any more strange encounters, and something inside me jumped when the car, no higher than my shoulder, pulled up to the curb. I held my breath as the window rolled down and I caught a flash of red.

Oh, no…

"Need a ride?" a familiar face called out to me. I felt my face heating up as I recalled many a childhood crush on the Turk talking to me from his car. I felt my toes curl in my soaked dress shoes as I tried to keep myself from leaping out of my skin.

None other than Reno smirked at me from the inside of a ShinRa car, complete with tattoos and all. This was one of many guys I had a major videogamer crush on. In all reality, though, I knew that it wasn't supposed to be good when a Turk invited you for a car-ride. I tried to recall any felony I may have unknowingly committed, somehow, but came up with completely nothing.

From what I've learned, Turks were bad news. Also, I could tell something was up since I ran into a creep who knew me when I had no clue who he was, and then the guy runs away a few minutes before a Turk shows up, offering a ride. I don't think that's necessarily a good thing.

On the other hand, Reno was one of the less suspicious Turks, if possible. I also had better chances if I was to go up against him, then, say, Tseng (oh, snap). Plus, if I didn't want to get further soaked by rain, or get trapped somewhere because of it, it would be a good idea to find someone willing to drive me home.

While I was trying to make up my mind, in the mean time probably looking like a scared, wet mouse, I could see Reno drumming his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel of his car.

"Just get in the car, it's not like it'll kill 'ya." He said, obviously getting tired of waiting. With that, I quickly walked to the passenger seat of the black car and slipped in, dripping water all over the leather seats.

Out of habit, I buckled my seatbelt and wished for the best. I checked my canvas bag, hastily, and knowing that it was wet on the outside I hoped that any papers wouldn't have been dissolved by the water by now. Luckily, the papers were only just damp, so I wouldn't have to make any of my students redo anything.

"Where to?" Reno asked, pulling off of the curb.

"The 7th Heaven…" I said, trying not to sound suspicious. I was looking out the window of the passenger door, even though it was covered by miniature rivers of rain.

"Really?" he asked me with a sly smile, but still turned the car onto a path that would take us there, "you don't look like that kind of girl."

"I'm not…" I said, getting his innuendo. I hadn't had a sip of alcohol in my life; it smelled too rancid for me. I'd always had a sensitive nose, unless it was allergy season.

"Then what would you want over there?" Reno asked, passing a car ahead. He was considerably over the speed limit, but it was Reno after all.

I bit my lip as I contemplated answering the question, and then I let it out. "I live there."

He only nodded. My stomach did a flip-flop as I suspected that something was truly wrong. In everything I remember, Reno was a lot cockier than this. I knew I would need to warn Tifa and Cloud once I was home.

"Roomies with Tifa and Cloud?" he asked me, casually.

"Yup…" I said, while thinking of opening the door and jumping. The car was going too fast, for any attempts at a spy getaway, though.

Reno turned a corner too fast and too sharply, and I was thrown against my door, hitting me right in the Geostigma. The thing hurt like a bruise would, but worse and I was clenching my fists to keep from crying out. Reno had made it perfectly fine and looked as natural as ever.

"Could you drive a little more carefully?" I said, almost shouting, and then clamped a hand over my mouth when I realized what I had just done. I could feel my face turning red and knew that my pallid skin was probably looking about the shade of a tomato.

"You'll get over it." Reno replied, with a more familiar sarcastic tone. He took a curve too fast, and I slid to my left but the seatbelt kept me from going out through the other window.

He finally hit a straight road, and I was able to recollect my sanity. My hair was a mess, but I didn't have time to fix it for trying to recollect scattered papers that had fallen out of my bag.

"What's with the streak?" Reno suddenly asked. I had no clue what he was talking about.

"Huh?" I said, sitting back up in my seat.

"Your hair. Is that just a fashion statement?" he asked, being too personal to my liking.

I ran a hand through my hair and buried among the mousy mess was a collection of long, silvery-white hair. Apparently I was aging faster than I realized, and not as gracefully as planned.

"I'm not entirely sure, myself." I replied.

Then an electronic melody interrupted our conversation and Reno pulled a flip-phone from his pocket, not bothering with me anymore. With a flick of his wrist, he answered the cell phone, ending the shrill tune.

"Yeah?" he said into it, while turning on the radio and winding up the volume. I could tell this was a conversation he didn't want me to listen in on, so I did the only respectable thing to do at the time. Listen in, of course!

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Got it… Uh-huh, well, can't say anything about that right now, Rude…No, not 'cause of that!...Yeah, I've got the person, don't know if I'm right or not, but I've got someone… Right, talk to you later." With the last phrase, he hung up the phone and turned up the radio even more. I wondered if this was a tactic to keep me from asking questions.

"Right here's good," I said quickly, while the car jerked to a stop. I didn't bother to say thank you as I stepped out of the car and hurried into 7th Heaven, only one block away from it.

I dodged customers as I made my way to the back of the place, looking for Tifa or Cloud. I was certain something was going on; it didn't take much to figure out Reno. I pushed the door to the kitchen at the back where I found Tifa quickly taking care of a few things, getting ready to go back out.

"Tifa!" I said, she couldn't hear me over the yammering outside of the kitchen. "Ti-fa!" I said a little louder, hoping she could hear my alarm.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked me, stopping at the door.

"Um, do you have a minute?" I asked, knowing today was one of her busier days.

"Well, yeah, I guess," she said, furrowing her eyebrows. I could tell she noticed I was looking a little uneven.

"Uh… well, you know how I was checking out those apartments, today?" I asked, not sure how to explain myself.

"Uh-huh," she said, before peering over shoulder through a window in the door.

"Well, I got caught in the rain, and some weird guy was talking to me like he knew me, and then he left, and then Reno, the Turk, gave me a ride home." I said. I was extremely jittery and I knew my words came out too quickly to comprehend.

Tifa looked over her shoulder one more time and said, "I'm sorry, Mia, but can you wait 'til closing time to tell me?"

"…Yeah…" I said, deciding that we both needed some time to get things together. I probably needed to calm down from my ordeal. Tifa smiled apologetically and backed out into the front. I was still wet all over, so I decided to get dried off somewhere. After cleaning up and getting into a warm change of clothes, I found myself curled up on the couch, still trying to calm my nerves, but too anxious to tell Tifa what was up.

I heard heavy footsteps as Cloud entered the living room and turned on the TV while settling into a recliner. I didn't think he noticed me, because it took a double-take for him to realize I was there.

"What's up with you?" he asked, noticing my obviously disturbed appearance. I just mumbled something inaudible, and he had to repeat his question to get an actual answer out of me.

"I really, really, really need to talk to Tifa because I met some weirdoes today and one of them was a Turk." I said, a little too fast and the only way I was certain Cloud comprehended my babble was by the irritated look on his face when I mentioned the Shinra's lackies.

"What?" he said. I could tell he hardly believed me.

"Okay," I said and took a few breaths to calm my nerves down. "I stuck around after school to go check out some apartment buildings and played around for too long. When it started raining I tried to wait it out under an awning of a store where this really weird guy was, too. Well, he started talking to me and he even knew my name, but I have no clue who he was and he walked away. After a little while, Reno- the Turk- pulled up in his car and offered me a ride, and since it was raining and I was too scared to say 'no', I got in the car and he dropped me off here."

"What would Shinra want?" Cloud asked, more to himself than to me and cast his eyes downward. I curled up a little tighter, and waited for Cloud to come out with some sort of answer.

"What do you think I should do?" I asked him.

"Let's wait, and we'll tell Tifa what's happened." Cloud said, "I suggest you stay indoors for awhile, and don't go anywhere alone."

I nodded my head, and after talking a little more about things, Cloud and I waited for closing time.

* * *

Gah, this is going so slow for me! So much has yet to happen, and my imagination is going crazy! Leave a review, please!

Ninja Cat of Light


	8. Chapter 8 Even Stranger Encounters

Mwa ha ha! The plot thickens even more in this chapter! I decided to update a day earlier than expected due to my schedule for the days to come. The next chapter might or might not come later than usual.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Final Fantasy 7 stuffz.

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Chapter 8 Even Stranger Encounters

"A _Turk_?" Tifa asked with alarm. I nodded my head and searched my brain for a way to calm her down.

"I-I think I'll be okay, though." I said. Tifa got worked up more than I had expected.

"This could be bad, though!" she said, pacing the room. I looked at Cloud who was still in the recliner; he was looking off into space, obviously feeling awkward. "You haven't done anything, have you?"

"No," I said. I was starting to get tired of discussing the issue.

"It might not be safe for you to go out." Tifa said in a tone that revealed that she was thinking out loud.

"I know," I said, I'd already been through that part with Cloud.

"You don't need to go anywhere alone and stay indoors as much as possible," Tifa said, formulating a plan that was already made.

"I know," I said, but then figured out a few flaws in all of this, "but what about my job?"

"It seems pretty safe to me. Shinra probably wouldn't want to make a scene in somewhere as public as that." Cloud threw into the conversation, finally tuning in.

"Yeah," I added, "plus, you drop me off in the mornings and pick me up in the afternoons, so it's not like I'm ever at an exposed point."

I was beginning to wonder if the two had forgotten all about the other man I had met. My mind drifted back to the emotionless figure and, once again, tried placing who he was. I couldn't come up with anyone, though. A shiver crawled down my spine when I thought of the way he called me by my name, as if he knew all about me.

After further advice and things, Tifa let me go. I was able to escape to my room where I prepared for the next day. I looked in my mirror while I was getting a change of pj's and remembered Reno's comment on my hair. I ran a hand through my hair, and found the streak of silver under the rest of the tangled mess. I couldn't recall any cases of graying hair at an early age in my family, in the possibility of it being hereditary. Things were indefinitely getting weird, but there's not much someone like me can do about it.

With a sigh, I went back over Tifa's schedule for me again. Get dropped off at work, teach the children, talk to no one but a limited conversation with administration and students, answer no personal questions, and get picked up directly after work by Tifa. Free time outside of home was definitely out of question.

Then I realized with a groan that getting my own apartment was going to be something extremely delayed. I would just be asking for something bad to happen if I rented an apartment for myself, where I would be living by myself, with no car, either. I would have to wait until things settled down until I would be able to even mention my own home, again.

Sleep was also out of the question, apparently, because when I hit the bed, my eyelids immediately refused to close. With a growl, I got out of bed and switched on the light. If I didn't fall asleep almost as soon as I lie down, I know I won't be able to sleep at all, through the night, so I set up camp for another all-nighter.

I sighed, and pulled out some of my ungraded papers. It was just a few tests that weren't finished yet, but no matter how hard I concentrated on comparing their answers to my own, my mind would either go blank or wander off subject. I shoved the papers back into my canvas bag. I had a terrible disregard for my students work, but I had an excuse to be ill behaved, today.

Sitting up in bed, I listened to the pecking of raindrops on my window. It was my first rain in Edge, which was possibly a time marker for me, now. I stared out the window which was being pelted with water. Dark night stared back at me through it and I wondered if I would ever see stars in this place. Every night, the skies were covered with clouds, as day usually is, but not the stormy kind. When it finally did rain, just today, I began to wonder if it was acid rain. Luckily, though, it was just run of the mill rain.

Feeling a tingling on my arm, I pushed up my sleeve. The familiar stigma glared back at me and I wondered when it was going to leave me. I laughed at myself after remembering a few family incidents back home when it came to sickness. I was one of the few lucky ones in our family who didn't have that much of a weak immune system, but I had always had allergies.

Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. A nightmare that I hadn't had in a month came back to me, shaking me awake. After I got over the shock of the dream, I felt a crick in my neck and realized I was still sitting up, and lowered myself back down in my bed. My arm was just a little more sore, and I rubbed over the stigma, hoping it was just some healing pains.

* * *

I quickened my pace as I unlocked my classroom door. Displeased students were lined up at my door, and waited for me to let them in. I looked back over my shoulder, searching for any unwanted followers. Closing the door behind me, I scanned my classroom for any strange behaviors, and such.

"I'm acting ridiculous," I whispered to myself. I tried to coax my self-conscious out of my current paranoia. I wrote the assignment on the white-board at the front of my classroom. I really didn't feel like going to the trouble of talking them through anything. After yesterday, I was feeling extremely disturbed by ways of constant suspicion. I could hardly take three steps without thinking someone's behind me.

Luckily, after first block, I was too wiped out to feel paranoid. Sleep was scarce for me, the night before, and by second block I found myself falling asleep at my desk. I was at a total disregard for my students' activities, but my brain was too tired to let me care at the moment.

"Miss Sanders?" an electronic version of one of the secretaries' voices said over the intercom. It had jarred me awake from my slumber and I answered while rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"You have a call on line one." They told me. My mind had to clear before I was able to comprehend anything.

"All right, send someone down to watch my class." I said, before slowly getting up and leaving the children completely unattended. I walked down the hallway of the school, trekking across the tiled floors. My footsteps slightly echoed in the empty setting before I approached the office.

"There was a call for me?" I said through the window. An office lady gestured for me to come in and I answered the person who was on hold. "Hello?" I said into the phone, but got no answer. After the third "hello" I finally got a reply.

"Is this Mia?" a woman's voice asked. I didn't like the sound of her tone, it was too mysterious.

"Yes, this is she." I said anyway, hoping it was just a concerned parent.

"Would you please meet me out front, I would like to talk to you." She told me. I furrowed my eyebrows and wondered if this person was for real.

"May I ask about what?" I asked, but then the phone had hung up before I was able to get an answer. I sighed and handed the receiver back over the desk to the office worker. I walked outside the office and looked towards the direction of the glass front double-door. My curiosity tempted me, but I knew that this was some kind of hoax, or another. I hoped it was, at least.

I ignored my temptation to go have a look and went back to my class. I dismissed my students for lunch and I sat down at my desk in the now empty classroom to wait out the lone hour before my next class showed up. I wasn't feeling hungry, so I decided to stay in my room, partly for safety and partly for confinement. My curiosity was growing more and more out of hand and I could feel my feet aching to walk myself to the front of the school. I wondered if it wouldn't be too late, though.

"Miss Sanders," The secretary's voice, turned mechanical by the intercom, said, "you're needed at the front."

"Okay," I said, rising from my swivel chair, preparing to leave the safety of my classroom. If the office was going to bully me, I might as well have a look. Besides, the school had a camera system.

I passed tweens rushing to the lunchroom, impatient to see their friends, who they have been separated for four hours, or so. I turned the corners in the maze of tiled hallways that were lined with lockers. Making my way to the front, I tried not to think of how I might be putting myself in a dangerous situation. Finally nearing the front doors, I looked through their glass barricade to see if I could spot who my consistent caller was. I didn't see anyone, so I assumed they may have been waiting in a car.

Pushing the door open, I stopped myself from jumping into the air when a woman, about my height, had been right where I was looking, previously. She had came from no where and smiled at me, as I nervously stepped out of the school building. For some reason, I knew I wasn't safe.

"Mia?" she asked in an almost alien voice.

"Yes, now what do you want?" I asked, trying my best to sound strong and like I was trying to cut to the chase. The woman only smiled, her dark brown hair lying limp over her shoulders.

"So you don't know." She said, as if she was confirming some sort of fact. "Would you like to know why you're here, today?"

"Um, because I got a job?" I answered, not quite getting her gist. The woman laughed coldly, reminding me of a stranger I met before.

"So innocent, but no. I mean would you like to know how you came to Gaia?" the woman asked me.

"Not if it means I have to pay a price of some kind." I said, knowing some sort of bargain was going to surface in our conversation.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to pay the price, presently." She said, and then her voice turned sharp and cold, "You won't be able to avoid the price, either."

"All right, I don't care how I got here, but now all I want to know is what your business is with me." I said, trying to steady my voice. I swallowed my fear down, hoping the woman wouldn't see it.

She smiled at me, and then she finally answered in a lighter tone, "I am only a messenger for now."

"But what's the message?" I asked, my voice rising and losing the fake edge I had been trying to add.

"That you are needed by The Society. We are waiting for our one-winged angel." She said. I felt myself gaping at her. All of this, and she just drops another cryptic phrase. Then again, I was beginning to piece together what she was saying; I was missing something, though.

"Is it time to leave?" the emotionless man I had met on that rainy day said, practically appearing from no where.

"I believe so," the woman said, but she stopped in mid-turn as she was leaving and looked back at me. Her green eyes bored into mine. "Would you like to come with us?" she asked, and I got the feeling that she was teasing me.

"No! I want to know what you want from me!" I shouted. I could feel some anger finally boiling up inside of me.

"You can't know that, yet, unless you would come with us." She said, but then she left me standing just a few yards from the front doors of the school. I thought I saw a dark mark on her neck while she was leaving.

She had left so many cryptic words for me to ponder. A society, one-winged angel, and a reason for why I'm here, maybe even the entire purpose of my presence on Gaia. As I stood there staring at the empty space where the two people had just been, the bell rang for the next class.

After the end of school, I found myself repeatedly glancing over my shoulder. While I was walking through the halls to get to Tifa's car, I kept Denzel in my sight, once I had found him, and didn't bother to talk to any of my coworkers or stay behind, grading papers. I silently cursed myself, knowing that I had gotten myself into something I wasn't going to get out of so easily. I steadied my shaking hands when I slid into the front seat of Tifa's car and tried to take a deep breath.

"Mia, you look terrible. Are you alright?" Tifa asked, immediately knowing my distress. I was feeling too shaken to explain things. "Did something happen?" she asked with urgency.

I nodded and replied, "I'll tell you when we get home."

The whole ride home I hugged myself to keep warm from a cold draft that didn't exist. My mind couldn't help but return to the enigmatic people I kept meeting. I was certain that the man and woman were connected, somehow.

"Come on," Tifa said, opening the car door for me. I hadn't realized we were home yet, but I followed her inside, receiving wary stares from Marlene and Denzel. Even they were aware that I was more skittish than usual.

Tifa sat me down on the living room couch after pushing a cup of coffee into my hands. Although Tifa's coffee may not have been my favorite, I took the warm liquid anyway. The earthy drink warmed my insides and I was able to calm just a little bit, my heart slowing to a reasonable pace.

"Tell me what happened." Tifa said. Cloud spotted us and after giving Tifa an inquisitive glance, he joined us in the living room.

"Well, I got a call, and, I, uh, a woman was on the phone who asked to see me at the front of the school, and I didn't go, but the office sent me down, anyway…" I said in a jittery mess, and took another swig of coffee before beginning again. I tried to steady my quivering body. But before I could get another word out, though, there was a knock at the front door and Tifa sprang up to answer it. I watched her from the doorway of the living room as she opened the door.

"Hello, and welcome, sorry we're-," Tifa began, never finished her sentence when she realized who was at the door.

A familiar Wutaian man dressed in a suit stood at the door, his hands crossed over one another. I suddenly felt my heart sink, and felt that I could be staring at my executioner, for all I knew. A blonde woman I knew stood behind him along with two other Turks, including Reno.

"Hello, Tifa, I need to see Mia Sanders, right away. I believe she is living here at the moment." Tseng said, who obviously knew that I was already here. I could feel the adrenaline rushing through me when I heard what the Turk had said. All four of Shinra's favored Turks were standing at my front door and the only thing that stood before me and them was just one person and my cup of coffee.

I glanced at Cloud, who was equally surprised as Tifa was. I didn't know whether to stand still, run, fight, or beg for mercy. I had a feeling nothing would help me out of this, though, and that my already fragile reality was going to begin crashing down around my feet.

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Hm, this chapter was short, to me, but it took longer to write than others. Please, drop a review, **and I gratefully thank those who have reviewed, a thousand times!**

Ninja Cat of Light


	9. Chapter 9 Bird Cage

Last time I checked, I think I left all of you on a cliffhanger! Ah, evil I am! Anyway, so I don't own Final Fantasy 7 and all that stuff. Enjoy the story!

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Chapter 9 Birdcage

My face was buried into my hands as I awaited the rest of my sentence. Everything was happening so fast and I was losing what little control I had finally been able to grasp in this life of mine. Stability was beginning to turn into something unreachable, only a ghost to my grabbing hands. Life was finally going on track and on one rainy day, had it began to slowly unravel.

I lifted my face out of my tear-filled hands and tried to confirm that I wasn't in a dream, again. Narrow, steel walls glared down at me and I was intimidated into burying my face, like a child, back into my hands. The bed that I was sitting on made me realize that this was to be my bed for the rest of my life. I was in a steel prison, and for some reason, I was the prisoner.

I had no clue of the time of day. I had no clue when my next meal was. I had no clue when I would see the sun again. I had no clue when I would see my friends again. I was devoid of all information, and I could hardly sort out anything in my thoughts.

Through all of my misery, though, my mind was able to drift back to the events that had took place, maybe hours earlier, or maybe days earlier…

"Hello, Tifa, I need to see Mia Sanders, right away. I believe she is living here at the moment." Tseng had said. The whole time, there was no doubt he knew I was right there in the living room. A Turk wouldn't just pop up at your front door without being certain of the whereabouts of their target.

"I'm afraid not, sir, she's very upset, right now, maybe you could come back another time." Tifa replied like she had never seen a Turk before. I smiled, and finally realized that Tifa had a lot more guts than most girls, at least me. I was cowering in the living room, waiting for Cloud or Tifa to take care of me.

"I'm sorry, but I have orders to detain her. It is for the utmost caution and urgency that she is taken back to ShinRa headquarters." Tseng said, repeating professional words that sounded rehearsed. I remembered tightening my grip on my coffee mug, like it was an anchor to reality. The rest of the Turks were waiting behind Tseng, like hungry wolves, ready to attack at any minute, and I was the main course.

Tifa stood at the door, with a look of defiance on her face. "What do you want with her?"

"I believe it would make things easier to explain with her to help us." Tseng said. I gaped at the doorway, and wondered if Tseng was trying to set me up as some kind of conspirator. Cloud pushed me towards the stairs, trying to signal me to go up to the second story, but we were spotted. Turks eyed us, ready to break in by force if I made another move.

"You've got to have a warrant to get in, don't you?" Tifa asked, trying to find a non-lethal way to keep the Turks out. Cloud pushed me out of his way and took his place by Tifa, glaring at the Turks.

"We've got one right here!" Reno said with a satisfied smile and pulled out a legalized paper from his pocket, but received a silencing glare from Tseng. I stayed glued to my spot in the living room, at the foot of the stairs. I was stupid not to run.

"I did you people a favor, now do us one, and stay out of this house." Cloud growled, grabbing a hold of the front door, ready to slam it whenever time allowed.

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Tseng said, placing his hand lightly on the door, "Your tenant is very dangerous, not only to those around her but to herself, and needs to be taken to a place of confinement."

"Dangerous?" Tifa asked, speaking my thoughts.

"Right now, she has active Jenova cells, and in the right circumstances, they could trigger into a calamity, yet seen." Tseng explained, finally able to push the door further open as Cloud had weakened at the news.

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded, finally uprooting from my place and making my way to the front room.

"Mia, go back," Tifa said placing a hand on my shoulder, urging me to stay away. She was beginning to remind me of my mother, and I still didn't bother to heed her directions.

"No, I want to know what's going on." I said, wanting answers and thinking that I had found some. "What's this about Jenova cells inside of me?"

"You'll find out as soon as you come with us." Tseng said. I noticed the other Turks shifting a bit in their places. I was beginning to feel like a living time bomb.

I looked over my shoulder, feeling that I had hit a wall of some kind. I knew that I would be doomed if I accompanied the Turks, but I knew that it was surely inevitable. On the other hand, I might have been able to get answers if I came quietly.

"Either way, you're gonna end up getting arrested." Reno said, getting another glare from Tseng.

"I know that," I spat, as I tried to consider my limited options as long as I could.

There was no time to stall, though, and I couldn't run because I was already trapped. I opened my mouth, realizing that a decision was to be made. Before speaking, I glanced at Cloud at Tifa who watched me closely.

"Fine," I said, breaking down. "It's not like I have a choice." I muttered, after I was roughly handcuffed and herded to a car. I felt my cheeks heat up as I saw pedestrians watching the scene take place. I was not a criminal, and now, everyone had the impression that I had to be if I did something bad enough to have actual Turks arrest me.

From then on, the whole car ride was blurred for me, but somehow, I had been escorted to a new ShinRa company building. Shinra must have made a new building to keep up with Edge, and I was beginning to wonder if Rufus was trying to be a stand-in for the police, now, since the Turks were beginning to act the closest thing to them. I never remembered police before, though, so who knows, maybe ShinRa _was_ the police here in Edge.

The Turks herded me inside at gunpoint and sat me down in a room where Tifa and Cloud later came in, both looking perturbed. Suddenly, the door opened and in walked Rufus Shinra, himself, along with the same four Turks from earlier; all four were armed with weapons.

"I believe you have some unanswered questions." He said, addressing the three of us. He stood at the front of the room like the professors back at college would do when they would begin their lecture. The fact that I was staring at one of the most powerful men on Gaia had silenced me.

"Let's try, why did you force yourself into my home and arrest a girl for something she doesn't even know she's done?" Cloud said from his seat, never failing to get his word in at Shinra.

"Well, do you know?" Shinra asked me. His hands were crossed behind his back and he looked as professional as ever. I was probably looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Hardly," I said quietly. The man in the white suit scared me out of my silence.

"Why don't you tell me where you're from?" Shinra asked before adding after a pause, "And I would like to know the truth."

I felt my heart skip a beat, and I realized that I was staring wide-eyed at Shinra. For some reason, I could tell he knew the truth to where I was really from. This only made me fear how much he really knew. Lying would be completely useless, now, and, of course, I couldn't run away. I was cornered and I knew it.

"I'm from…" I said, but I lost my words and had to turn my eyes down to the floor because everyone's eyes were on me. I felt the pressure steadily increasing on me.

"Go on," Shinra said, urging me to answer the question myself. I was trapped and I couldn't lie to get myself out of this one.

"I'm from Earth." I said, hoping no one would pursue anymore information. The words had almost hurt to get out.

"'Earth'?" I heard Cloud say with bewilderment, "But where's that at?"

"Not on the planet, of course." Shinra said, getting way too lax about explaining things.

"'Not on the planet'? That's impossible!" Tifa said, after echoing Shinra's words.

"Not entirely. In fact, she's from a completely different dimension." Shinra said, beginning to pace the room, slowly. He really reminded me of an excited college professor, now, and it was making me irritated. "As far as we knew, at least, but we now have confirmation." I was fuming, now.

"Then, how did she get here?" Tifa asked, trying to find reasoning behind everything. I was trying to dismiss myself from the conversation. I was scared that if I said anything else, things would only end up getting worse and worse.

"We suspect a group of people who call their selves 'The Society', you may have heard of them on the news, but I doubt it, I've been trying to keep a lid on it for public safety reasons." Shinra said, "Our suspicion is that they were able to summon Mia, somehow, but we're not entirely sure how. She must have come into contact with Jenova cells, for some strange reason, on her journey to our planet. For all we know, they could've been dormant fragments, floating through time and space."

The news story I had heard echoed in my mind. "_Strange summoning rituals_" rang over and over in my head and I realized what truly brought me here. That strange man and woman I had met were apart of what brought me to Gaia, in the first place. It also made sense that I was able to catch the stigma from said "floating cells".

"But why would they want to do this?" Tifa asked. I could tell she was appalled by all of this.

"Or even how?" Cloud added, "She can be cured and we can stop this, can't we?"

Shinra chuckled before explaining. "On Earth there is no such thing as the Geostigma, and events that take place here have no effect there. Never being exposed to any sicknesses on our planet, her immune system isn't strong enough to fight off the Stigma, and a synthetic cure would have hardly an effect on her."

"So she can't be cured?" Tifa asked, almost at a whisper.

"As far as we are capable of, no, she cannot." Shinra said grimly. My heart felt as if it had stopped.

"I'm going to die?" I asked my voice cracking.

"We don't know if you could die, or not, but the Geostigma is still mutating within you, and if the circumstances were just right, they could become fully active." Shinra said. I was beginning to understand the urgency of my captivity.

"Fully active? What would that do to her?" Tifa asked, afraid for my safety.

"Sephiroth." I heard Cloud whisper. Shinra also apparently heard him.

"No, much worse than that," Shinra said, than became as serious as ever, "She could become a Jenova, itself. She's a perfect incarnate and, practically, Jenova in every way and definition, once the cells fully trigger."

Now, I can just laugh at the bitter humor I've concocted in my lone hours since then. I wonder if I fell from the sky, days before, just as Jenova did. Maybe that's how I ended up in the church. I could have just fallen straight from my car seat and into the torn sanctuary. A calamity from the sky. I was beginning to get used to the fact that I was the larva form of something so evil.

"It's okay, Mia, everything will be okay." Tifa had told me, before they left, "We can get you out of this somehow, I'm sure of it."

She was on the verge of tears at seeing me in the mess I had gotten into. Cloud only stared into space, hardly believing this for himself. I didn't know if either of them really thought I was ever going to be able to leave, again, but I believed that I was most likely going to be imprisoned for some time. I was beginning to wonder if all of this could have been avoided, and I would have been able to be back on Earth, instead of catching a deadly disease and end up getting quarantined/imprisoned.

Then, there was a side of me that still denied that I could ever become something that could destroy a world. I would have my will through all of it, wouldn't I? I would never do as extreme as everything Jenova has ever intended, before and even now. I could wake up, and be back in my bed at the 7th Heaven anytime, now.

"Why are you doing this?" Tifa had asked while we were still gathered around Shinra.

He only gave her an unreadable look and remained silent. Cloud stared at him, knowingly.

"Atonement, that's why." Cloud said.

"Sephiroth, Jenova, SOLDIER, all of it was my company's fault, and it's only expected that I try to prevent anymore destruction." Rufus said, turning his face away from us.

"'Expected?'" Tifa said incredulously. She was becoming too angry to speak any further. I could see her clenching her fists. Cloud was by himself seething, but without a word.

I was escorted out of the current sitting room we had been in, and after being blindfolded, I was taken somewhere where I was to be, possibly, for the rest of my life. When my jailer shoved me into the metal room and jerked off the blindfold, they shut the steel door behind me and I heard a series of clicks, signaling that I had been locked in, and very well.

And to think I thought this would be fun back in the days before I ever ended up here. I would have been so excited to meet Rufus Shinra, in person, but instead of making me excited, he had only made me feel doomed.

After then, the only people I saw were those who would come only twice a day to serve me a meal. They never talked to me; they only took extra precautions to make sure I didn't escape. Most of the time, though, I was too wrapped up in my own despair to eat. In my days there, I had finally realized that a life of solitude was not what I wanted. I hated the solitude that I craved, times ago, and I was desperate for one breath of fresh air.

It was only a matter of time before I would break. My eyes were beginning to long for the sight of day and my lungs were growing impatient of the stale air that I breathed in my enclosure. Time bombs apparently don't like being imprisoned just as anything else wouldn't.

I was growing more and more impatient to get out and finally it was one day the metal door creaked open, startling me out of my moments of self-pity. A worker by the looks of it stepped in with a tray of food and set it on a table that was bolted to the floor. I didn't bother getting up to eat my meal. I kept going over and over the thought that it was possible I was going to die if I didn't destroy the world.

"This isn't a lovely predicament, at all." I heard the worker say. The voice was extremely familiar. It also echoed the bleakness of my mood.

"Not a nice pleasant living space, either." The monotone voice said. My mind tried to line up the voice with the face, because I refused to see who it was, for myself.

"Would you like to leave with me? The Society would be ever happy if you came home to us." I heard the voice say just as I realized who it was.

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Ha ha! Another cliffhanger! Who could it be? Also, pretty much all unanswered questions will be answered in the next chapters! Leave a review, please!

Ninja Cat of Light


	10. Chapter 10 A Tryst with Freedom

Yay! Yet another chapter! Btw, there is a reference to Greek mythology just here in a few seconds. The part about the money at home is a reference to the river of the dead in the Greek underworld in their mythology, in which you must pay a price to the ferryman in order to get across, where afterlife lies, on his boat. I'm not sure if I just explained that well enough, or not, but on with the story, anyway!

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Chapter 10 A Tryst with Freedom

I peered over my shoulder, checking to see if anyone was following. As soon as I looked back ahead of me, I had to jog to catch up to my means of escape. Deep down inside of me, I knew what I was doing was wrong. However, if it meant I could escape my days of confinement, or even just see the light of day again and taste the air on the outside, I was game.

"Hurry now," the man said. His empty voice reminded me of a ghost, and I was beginning to wonder whether I was being escorted through the ShinRa building, or across the river of the dead. If it was the second option, too bad I had left my money at home.

I caught up to him, and before we could turn a corner, he signaled for me to stop as two workers passed by, giving us no more than a wave. I was glad for the workman clothes the man had smuggled into my cell, which included a hat that I had pulled low, over my face, ready for any emergency. If it wasn't for that, I would have surely been caught by now. Who knows what chaos would happen if I got caught?

I pondered this as I chased the man through the corridors. Maybe they would have done just as little as strengthen the securities in my cell, or maybe they would resort to more inhumane terms. Either way, even if I could live my life as a hermit, I didn't want to do it in a permanent jail. (Emphasis on jail… and permanent, to be exact.)

"Act natural," the man told me, pulling his cap farther down. I did the same, trying to hide my face. We entered a more crowded area that was also more open. I guessed it must have been the front desk, considering there were a few secretaries at one long desk. The man moved through them like a shadow, weaving and dodging idle people, waiting to get their business done. I, on the other hand, bumped into people and just hoped that I would get out alive. I had to keep myself from jumping when I heard some loud construction tools making erratic and loud interruptions in the yammering of the room. There was still some extra finishing touches that the building was undergoing.

"Go back, go back." The man told me, suddenly, trying to send me back around. I noticed some Turks standing around the front door and understood the reason for going back into the maze of corridors that only made up a small fraction of the ShinRa building.

"There are a few side exits the workers use, here; we'll get out through one of the doors in that area." The man said, coordinating our escape. "They're also the last to be locked in a lock down." I just nodded and followed, not knowing how to reply to this monotonous man. He hadn't hardly shown any emotion since the day I met him, in the rain.

After going through some more halls, turning more corners, and dodging more people, we finally made it to the beginning of the end of a narrower hall and I quite literally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Sunlight was flooding in from a window on the door, making the fluorescent lights that lit our path from the ceiling look drab and dowdy. My heart quickened as we neared the door, ready for fresh oxygen to circulate through my deprived blood system.

"_Prisoner 413 has escaped! I repeat, prisoner 413 has escaped! All security on search, immediately! This is not a drill; I repeat: this is not a drill! Commence lock down!" _an urgent voice said over an intercom that was wired throughout the entire building.

"That's you!" the man whispered to me, as we broke into a run to the door. I could hear shouts approaching us and I was able to get one final burst of energy out as I dashed out of the door that the man held open for me, fighting the automatic locking system that still didn't have the finishing touches on it, yet. He let it shut and gestured for me to follow as he ran out to a bare parking lot that was crowded with vehicles. I could see some security that had got caught outside and were beginning their search for me, outdoors. I knew I was in big trouble…

"Stay down," he said to me and I ducked my head below the windows of cars that were lined up with one another. He led me to a truck parked in the middle of a line of cars and told me to get in.

I launched myself into the passenger seat as the man jumped into the driver's seat with much more grace. After starting the truck up, he backed the truck out of the parking lot, tires screaming, and he sped out of the parking lot. As soon as we got far enough, he turned into a busy intersection and got us lost among the sea of vehicles. It wasn't the most inconspicuous getaway, but it was just a small price for the treat of getting to really stretch my legs.

I gave myself a moment to calm my racing heart that was ungrateful for the exercise I had just done myself. I slid down into the leather car-seat and took a deep breath that could also count as a sigh. When I looked out the window, the sun was settling into the west, getting ready to go down and turning a bright gold. I closed my eyes and took note of the dandelion gold that the sunlight made the inside of my eyelids. Then, my momentary feeling of world peace ended when I fully realized what I had just done.

I had just escaped from a cell that -even if it was meant to keep me imprisoned for the rest of my life- was meant to imprison Jenova, itself. Like what Tseng and Rufus Shinra had said, any minute I could become Jenova and destroy the world. Not only was I a bomb, ticking to detonation, but I had escaped with a member of a cult that pretty much worshiped Sephiroth/Jenova.

I was going to have to run away from this man as soon as I got the chance. I couldn't just wait around to see what he would do to me. There needs to be an escape plan, and it needs to be executed as soon as possible. I didn't need to hang out until it was too late.

But what would I do after that? Shinra would find me, sooner or later, and like I said, earlier, who knows what would happen, then? They must have let Tifa and Cloud off, but if I went back to the 7th Heaven and ShinRa found me there, it would almost be certain that they would be punished for helping someone like me. Well, if they helped me at all, that is. Who could say that they would take in a Jenova incarnate under their roof? Especially since Cloud has fought off others, like me.

_Others like me_, I thought. I now belonged under the same category as Sephiroth, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. It also put me under the category of murderer and destroyer. I would definitely have to go back into confinement, after this one tryst with freedom.

So it was decided, after I escaped from "The Society", I would indefinitely turn myself in; what other choice did I have? Undoubtedly I would have to face some sort of consequence, but that's just the price for a day of freedom, I guess.

I brought my mind back to reality. For now, I was stuck with Mr. Smiley, as I've came to mentally call him, and wherever he was planning to take me. There was no telling where I would end up by the end of this car ride, but either way, I would have to find some place to escape. I just hoped that I wouldn't get too far out of town. As far as I could tell, though, we were still on the same highway, well hidden amongst the mix of other innocent cars.

"Where're we going?" I asked casually, not bothering to get worked up, at the moment.

"Back to a living quarters. Beatrice will watch you for the time being." The man told me. I suddenly went from time bomb to toddler. Why did I need a babysitter? Oh, yeah, because there was still the possibility that I would run away… Smart thinking…

A span of silence followed, as I noticed we had taken a turn off the busy highway and onto a less crowded city street, but still populated by cars. I tried to lay out a mental map of how far we were from the ShinRa headquarters, and memorized the roads we had taken. I would need to know this for the journey back.

"So what's your name?" I asked, because I knew Mr. Smiley would never do for now. I'm pretty sure I would get some pretty weird looks if I called him that.

"They call me Raye." He said passively, like he had never had a name, to begin with.

I nodded and paused before asking, "So, why did you get me out of there? - ShinRa, that is."

"I was ordered to." He answered briefly.

"Why? I mean, why am I so important, exactly?" I asked, wanting a reason for the reason I was so vital to this group of people.

"You are the one who houses the mother of the one-winged angel," he explained, "we're waiting for you to become your true self."

_Jenova…_ I thought along with a displeased and exasperated sigh. So they were going to let me bake a little longer until I became the full-fledged cupcake of doom. Yeah, I was definitely going to turn myself back in, if these idiots were going to use me like this.

I crossed my arms and turned my attention back to the road. I noticed that we were leaving the heart of town, now, and we were nearly to the outskirts of town before Raye/Mr. Smiley ever stopped the car. We had turned into a parking lot of an older looking house where he told me to get out of the car. He led me through the front door where a woman stood in the front room, waiting for me.

"We're so happy you've came to us, Mia." She said to me. This was the same woman who had paid an anonymous call and a visit to me on the day of my arrest. Her dark brown hair was just the same, still lying limp on her shoulders.

"Yeah," was all I said. I didn't know how to reply to this woman, she was almost like a zombie with a smile. "So what do you want right now?"

"Right now, all we need to do is wait." The woman told me. Crud, this is never good. I noticed her eyes never moved much, like she was focusing straight ahead of her.

And wait, we did. In fact, I waited in the living room of the house- who belonged to the woman, Beatrice- and tried to make it to nightfall which was when I intended to execute my plan. An outdated TV ran on a channel I wasn't even paying attention to for me staring out the white-walled living room. The sun settled further down into the sky and I could almost sense the moon rising in the east. The daylight that was flowing through the window darkened and soon only night lazily wafted through the glass panes.

I yawned and began to look for Beatrice to ask for a place to sleep. As I looked for her, my right arm tingled and I stretched it some, hoping that the tingling would go away. I found her sitting at her kitchen table, where she had been where I had left her, earlier. It was strange, because it had been some time, too.

"Do you have any place I can sleep?" I asked her, casually, not trying to notice the strangeness of the way she had hardly changed position since I had left her.

"Yes, yes, follow me." She said before rising from the table, mechanically, and leading me out the room. I followed her down a hall and felt a successful glow inside of me. I noticed that the bedroom she let me into was on the first floor, so that improved my chances of escape, and possibly decreased my chance of injury.

She left me by myself without telling me where any pajamas I could borrow might be, at the moment. As soon as I heard her footsteps grow quieter and quieter with the distance she walked down the hall, I tried the windows at the wall closest to the foot of the bed. When I shoved them upwards, they came open just ever so slightly with a little bit of a squeak. Beatrice had left them unlocked!

After doing a happy dance, I began searching for some pajamas in the dresser that was in the room. I soon realized that I was going to leave, anyway, so I decided to just camp out in my day clothes, for now, even though a change would be nice. I tried the bed, not to see how comfortable it was for sleeping, but for day dreaming and thinking like I always do at the 7th Heaven. Once I had spread out, like I used to, I tried to get used to the bed, but it didn't feel right at all. So that was just another reason to leave, even if I was going back to another place where I would never be comfortable.

Then, I started the waiting process. I crawled under the bed covers, just in case Beatrice decided to pop in on me, so I would be prepared to fake sleeping. Although the woman was cryptic and weird as all get out, I hoped that maybe she might be easy to fool, since she was daft enough to leave the windows unlocked. Everyone knows you don't leave the windows unlocked for anything.

I had decided to wait until eleven o' clock, to make sure that Beatrice would be asleep, if she did sleep at all. Before I had started waiting out the time, I was scared that I would fall asleep and end up missing my chance, but my nerves were keeping me awake. I watched the digital clock on the side table, like a hawk, which unfortunately just slowed time down. To top that cake off, though, was the fact that I was freaking out at the smallest noise I heard outside the bedroom door. I kept thinking it could be Raye or Beatrice, ready to step in at the worst time.

"It'll be okay," I whispered to myself for encouragement. My eyes were beginning to feel weird, though, and my stigma was beginning to bother me. "It'll be okay." I whispered again, this time trying to calm down my fears of turning into a monster. I tried to ease those fears by reminding myself that the Geostigma had always acted up whenever I got excited.

Time passed painfully slow, so I cut my time down to 10:45 because I couldn't wait any longer. I slowly got out of the bed to keep any of the springs from creaking and slipped my shoes on and tiptoed across the carpet to the window that was my ticket out of here.

My heartbeats sped up as I curled my fingers under the bottom edge of the window. I bit my lip and I lessened the pressure I was giving with the window, on my right arm, because the stigma was beginning to sting a little. The window didn't want to budge on me and I finally lifted with my right arm with one burst of willpower and it shot up quicker than desired, resulting in a loud and perfectly audible creak.

My heart was definitely racing, now, and I held my breath as I waited to hear any footsteps at my door. After a minute, or so, I concluded the window unheard and tried to ease out of it. It still wasn't open wide, enough, so I tried to edge it up a little with my shoulder. I bit my lip again as it rose a little higher, but breathed a sigh of relief when I got it up to the desired height, without a sound. I slid, feet first, out of the window and my feet hit the moist dirt of Beatrice's front lawn that was without grass. I rubbed my right arm a little, in the hopes of deterring the uncomfortable, but still slight, burning it was causing.

I staggered a little as I tried to fight some grogginess off. I was always a little dizzy when just getting out of bed, whether I was up all night, or not. When it didn't go away, I tried to press on anyway, knowing that this was a matter of public safety. I looked over my shoulder, through a haze, back at Beatrice's house to make sure I had gone unseen. I broke into a staggering jog as I willed myself on. I didn't know how I was going to walk the entire way to ShinRa, but since the company had already been alerted, there was surely to be Turks about the entire city.

I reached the end of the driveway before my right arm began to burn with the familiar pain that Geostigma causes. I grabbed at it and willed myself farther, but the pain grew worse and worse with each step.

"No," I whispered, almost crying out. The same visions that had haunted me at my last stigma attack flashed through my mind again, and I kept willing my feet further. This only resulted with even more pain as my heart pumped blood throughout my body, faster and faster, egging on the stigma. My heart pumped so hard and fast that it was almost painful, doubling the pain at the Geostigma site.

When I thought that I had reached the end of my leash, I could see the highway in the distance through the surrounding buildings, where red taillights and white headlights coursed up and down it. With a burst of perseverance, I pushed onward, but my legs began to shake and I was beginning to fight buckling knees with each step.

"This can't be happening," I said aloud, not caring if I was heard, or not. I looked around, in the hopes that I might find any other residence I might be able to find refuge in. At every broken building I saw, there were no lights on and doors seemed to be barred with wooden planks from the outside, signaling their long abandonment.

Tears of both pain and frustration began to roll down my cheeks as I tried to walk farther, but it was a fight just to put one foot forward. My knees were buckling with every step and before I know it, I was on the ground, clutching my right arm where the Geostigma seared my skin.

Through the factors such as a haze that covered my eyes, mental visions of silver hair, and the night, I could see shadows looming over me. I could only hope that I might not end back in the house, to only wait out the time before I became a monster.

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Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention earlier, but I MADE IT TO THE 10TH CHAPTER! WE ALL MADE IT TO THE BIG 1- 0! All of my readers need to have a little happy moment because, usually, my fics don't last this long and I think it's safe to say there is more to come in the case of updating! ;)

Ninja Cat of Light


	11. Chapter 11 Tearing

Yes, yet another chapter! I left you on another cliffhanger (silly me) last time! I hope some of your questions will be answered in this chapter, if not, they'll be answered in the next (oops, did I just drop a hint that this fic is yet to end? Or at least end in this chapter?)

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Chapter 11 Tearing

They were stubborn, but I was able to lift my heavy eyelids that still wanted to sleep. I, myself, was done sleeping and was ready to do something. There wasn't much to do in my prison, but my mind was constantly at work and needing entertainment like a wildfire waiting for the next thing to burn. When I was able to clear the haze of sleep from my eyes, I had to stifle a squeal when I realized that I wasn't back at my confining cell at ShinRa or even in my beloved room at 7th Heaven. A feeling of foreboding overcame me as I realized that I was still in the room at Beatrice, the robot/my hopefully temporary hostess's house. I was able to recollect memories of an attempted run away last night, and I checked my arm to see if my stigma was still acting up.

I gasped a little as I looked at the angry dark mark, which was looking even worse than when I had last took a look at it. I ran a tentative finger over it and wrinkled my eyebrows at the tenderness of it. I realized that it was a wonder that I didn't turn into Jenova last night, then and there. I guess I just wasn't done baking, yet.

I leaned my head back and tried to clear out the fog in my head. I was going to go straight to work as soon as I could get some focus. It didn't take a lot to have an accident with me, so I needed to be alert.

When I thought I was well enough, I got out of the bed that had been unmade for me and immediately tried the windows again. I cursed when they refused to budge and I looked for a lock on the inside. When I pressed my forehead against the window pane to see if there was a lock on the outside, I could see boards along the edges that locked the window frame firmly in place, so no one could get in from the outside without the proper tools, and I was locked on the inside.

Just as I was about to try the door, it opened and Beatrice stood at the entrance, doorknob in hand and Raye in tow. She smiled at me and I glared at her.

"How are you feeling?" she asked me.

"Fine, now take me back to Shinra's." I demanded and tried to push past her, but Raye kept me blocked from every spot Beatrice was open. It was frustrating even looking at the two who seemed just bent on the destruction of the planet.

"I'm afraid we can't do that." Beatrice said, shaking her head as if she was trying to be sympathetic.

"You don't understand! I need to get back." I said, trying to reason with the unreasonable. "I hate to say it, but the only reason I left was just to get some fresh air, if that even makes any sense."

"You chose to leave, but you can not choose to go back, now." Beatrice told me cryptically. "I'm afraid you can't leave."

I gaped at her like she was an idiot. Well, truly the woman was an idiot for basically forcing an explosive to stay put in an open area… with lots of people around. This couldn't go on like it was.

"I have to leave. This could mean the world as we know it, or not, if you make me stay here." I told Beatrice as I tried one last time to finally physically force myself past. There was a scuffle and I was pushed back in by both people before Beatrice shut the door and the lock clicked from the outside. I tried the knob, anyway, but it was only in vain, as it was inevitably locked.

I did catch something disturbing on the back of Raye's left hand as he had pushed me back into my prison. It had been a dark mark, almost black, that was none other than Geostigma. It also reminded me of a dark mark I saw on the back of Beatrice's neck I had seen a while before.

"That must be why." I said with realization. Wouldn't they have been cured by now? Or was it that they weren't cured was why they were doing this to me? It had to be that. There was no other way any person in their right mind would keep a threat to life, as we know it, in a position that left the planet vulnerable.

So I left one prison to only end up in another. This time, though, the world was at a worse chance of surviving me if I really did end up turning into Jenova, or not. To top it all off, I was being kept by people who weren't in their right mind. I could remember when I thought that I was off pretty bad, back at the beginning of coming here, now I was really up the river and without a paddle, compared to then. Actually, I was up a river, without a paddle, and my kayak had long ago, capsized.

I backed away from the door and began pacing the room like a wild animal. My heart was racing and I was beginning to feel lightheaded. I was trying to piece together a way of escape in my head, and looked around the room for any tools. I spotted a small nightstand and I cleared off the contents that were lying on its surface, such as the digital clock and a lamp, with a sweep of my hand and picked it up with what strength I could. I hauled it over towards the window like a madwoman and raised it to swing, but my right arm gave out on me in the beginnings of another attack.

I dropped the small end table and clutched my arm, not bothering to try to continue my attack on the window. I sank to my knees and tried to slow my breathing. The adrenaline rush I felt earlier had to be the reason for the sudden pains I was feeling in my arm. I tried to calm my heart which was unnecessarily pumping blood through my body in a manner that was only advancing another attack. I rolled onto my back and tried my best to steady my breathing in the hopes of slowing my heart rate. I was able to find a crevice of relief, somewhere and I lay maybe for hours before I was able to stand.

I rose to my feet, still clutching my right forearm that was hugged against me. My heart had slowed at a decent rate and I was able to slide onto the bed, still exhausted from my ordeal. It was a miracle that Jenova hadn't hatched right then and there. In fact, I was still waiting for the moment where the planet would fall apart at my doing. It would only be a matter of time if I stayed put like I was doing.

"I've gotta get out of here." I said to no one in particular. I lay down on the bed trying to calm myself and ended up drifting off to a long and extended sleep.

So I was only a vessel, in all of this, that Jenova was using to make a come-back. The reason I was pulled from my own planet was only so Jenova could use a body that wasn't as immune to the sickness overcoming me. I could only wait out the days.

I used the fading and appearing light through the window curtains to count the days that I had been confined to my new prison. I had endured maybe five days and I was properly nourished the entire time, although the meals held less variety than the ones where I had came from last, believe it or not. It was almost as if Beatrice had no clue how to serve anyone, as all smiley and sickly sweet she was.

I also endured a few more attacks in the days that I was there. Most of the time they were induced by my own dreams that varied from visions of breaking out of here to that same nightmare that must be my own transformation into Jenova. The only way I could subdue one was to try to calm my entire being as much as possible, which is sort of hard to figure out the first few times and even harder to maintain in your sleep.

On the morning of my sixth day, Beatrice unlocked my door and she and Raye were able to herd me out only by keeping a tight grip over my patch of stigma. It became the source of the pain that was coursing throughout my body whenever pressure was applied to it. They were able to pacify my attempts of escape and protesting questions by simply keeping a tight hand over it. I was completely susceptible to them.

They were able to force me into Raye's car when I had been rendered into a state where all my concentration was centered on preventing another attack. I was strapped in like a sick child and taken on another ride to somewhere I was completely unaware of the whereabouts. I was coaxed out of the backseat only to get another hand over my arm to keep me from running off.

I was finally able to overcome my pain only to be shoved into another room and locked in. I couldn't think of a way to battle this and the entire room had been Mia-proofed, free of potentially lethal objects and all doors and windows were inaccessible to my use. I rubbed my arm and took a seat on the bed that was much smaller than Beatrice's extra. My luck had run dry and even caught fire, on its way out.

So it was just another replay of Beatrice's where I was served my bland meals and kept shut in like a wild animal, raving to get out. Regret was another thing to battle along with all my other emotions on the shelf, including guilt and a growing distress and sadness. My attacks started to make more debuts, not just during the night where dreams encouraged them, but also a lot more frequent during the day. I tried to control them the best to my ability, but I knew there would be a point where resistance would amount to nothing.

I was beginning to be bounced from home to home, still locked in one room, and with more homes I met more people who were scarily similar to Beatrice and Raye, in the fact that they seemed almost mechanical in their actions. I was beginning to realize that the Turks must be on to them by the way that they were sending me from place to place, and I hoped that one day I might hear the front door slam open with the sound of storming Turks, as strange as it sounds. It was also beginning to get easier for them to transport me because of my growing steadiness in Geostigma attacks that would leave me exhausted in the spans of time that I was conscious. It didn't take but a light touch on any part of my right arm to send me into submission, and soon just a firm poke on the right side of my body sent me into fits.

My mind was beginning to feel crowded and stifled as time went on. I didn't bother with searching for ways of escape for finding an escape, or even relief, from my sickness that caused me so much pain. Details of my prisons were beginning to matter the least to me and I was beginning to feel another presence in my consciousness. I feared that it wouldn't be long before the predicted transformation would take place.

"Should we wake her up?" someone asked my current captor as they slipped my arm around them in order for me to be carried in my passive state. There were more like Beatrice and Raye, many more for all the homes I had been put in and taken out of.

"No need, let her rest for now," the other answered as they took my other arm. I groaned when my right arm sent pain through me when it came into contact with the other person.

I was carried to another car and I guessed that I was being taken to yet another home, in order to be kept out of the reach of Shinra. I was too tired to protest and I let them slide me into the back seat of a car that I only troubled myself of taking note of the quality of the leather seats I was slid so easily into. My mind felt crowded, like a room full of people. My mind was feeling particularly oppressed and I was beginning to feel something stir.

"Is this the place?" one of them asked the other, who confirmed their question. I heard the car door open to my seat and I was dragged out like a dead body and my feet barely supported me when they met the ground. The two people steadied me as they walked me further on. The night that soothed my tired eyelids was interrupted by a white light that seemed shrill to me in my cocoon of fatigue. I interrupted my haze and cracked my eyelids to see the source of the white light which I discovered was emanating from the thick forest of trees all around me.

I was able to wake myself up further in the realization of where I had ended up at and I gazed up at the night sky and a full moon gazed, mercifully, back down at me. From the almost academically induced awe, I began to feel something otherworldly in me stir inside. For a second, I felt some sort of wave go over my eyes and I knew something had physically changed about me, particularly my eyes. I knew it had to be the color, since they had long been fading from my original brown.

I was walked to a dark pool where a huge, gnarled tree overlooked everything and twisted into the air, going ever higher. The air was pleasantly cool on my feverish body and I didn't resist when I was lead into the pool of water. The water was cool, like the breeze that was blowing through, and I wouldn't have minded if I was submerged into the watery abyss. I was actually hoping that they would.

"They're here, now," I heard one of the people supporting me say to the other. I looked at the bank of the pool, which was waist deep at the area we were standing, and I saw people gathered around. There weren't a whole lot of them, but there was a good many and I noticed that some unlucky few had their Geostigma across their faces, publicly and openly marking them and warning everyone of their ailment. They probably hadn't bothered to cure their sickness, for some reason, ending them up where they were. I stressed again, in my mind, that it had to be some sort of mind control.

Then, someone began talking, almost reverently, most likely announcing what was about to take place, and my two supports let me go and I was left alone in the dark water. My legs couldn't support me by their selves, and my body was tired. Something that was inside me, yet not even me, longed to be enveloped into the cold water. As I let myself float onto my knees, I felt cool stone where I was at and the gentle waves of the pool tugged at the ends of my silvering hair. Although my body was beginning to be relieved of all the pain that had wracked it, I could almost feel my very mind being suffocated.

The other presence in me sent mental signals that this very suffocation was perfectly fine, but deep down in my own conscience, I knew something was very wrong. From deep within me, my true self began to fight the psychological flood that was drowning my thoughts and will. With it, came a physical desperation in which I thrashed at the water and tried to get out somehow, or at least stand properly.

The weight of my soaked clothes were hard to fight and I could feel myself dwindling like a fading candle. It was like going to yet another prison, but worse. It was a prison where I had no control over even myself, and I knew I couldn't fight this for long. Jenova was taking over.

With one last burst of will and energy, I was able to shoot up to my full height before falling backward into the water and being dragged into the deeper depths of it. My eyes made out the white light of the surface and my hands grasped for it and I watched my skin pale into a sickly white, then an otherworldly blue as I sank downward. My hair floated all around me and it faded from brass to silver, starting at the original streak and spreading from there. It also flowed longer and longer as I sank deeper into the watery abyss, outdoing my reaching hands.

My last free emotion was one of regret, and my last thought questioned why did it have to be me?

* * *

I know, I know, it was probably sad at that last bit, there. We're obviously on the road to reaching the last battle, here, and you're probably wondering how will I do this from Mia's point of view if she's a raging monster bent on destroying humanity? Looks like you'll have to just find out in the next chapter and maybe even leave a review (ha! I snuck that one in there!)

Ninja Cat of Light


	12. Chapter 12 Storm

Yay! Chapter 12! Yeah, so I decided to update early! Sorry if I threw off some of my readers, but I've got some business to tend to Thursday. Okay, so I'm going to give you a heads up that there's some major point of view changes in and out of the fic, so bear with it. I hate announcing whenever there's a point of view change, too, so I just left the names (not gonna tell you who ;)) instead of adding the whole POV after it. Alright, so enjoy the fic, and such. I don't own the FF7 compilation; there, a disclaimer.

* * *

Chapter 12 Storm

* * *

Cloud

* * *

It had been several weeks since we left Mia in her prison. No one could believe what had just happened and Tifa was crushed. I couldn't stand seeing Tifa in the state she was when we had returned home that day, but I was the one who had to be strong in this situation. I felt like I was the only one not allowed to break down, whether it was for losing a friend or gaining an unseen enemy that was hiding within that same friend. What truly hurt me the most was seeing Tifa, who had seen herself as the strong one and a staple to this odd family we had built, over time, break down. I still felt like I had no right to express the feelings I forced myself to cage. I had to be strong, whatever the true meaning of that word is.

"Cloud, you've hardly said a word, since then," she told me one day, wondering why I had neglected to show emotion over this. After I didn't reply she asked me, "Aren't you sad about any of it?"

"Of course, I am," I said. I was confused about her question.

I truly hadn't liked Mia, at first. I felt that she was invading our home, and I could tell she knew my thoughts of her by the way she always tried to stay out of my way. Over time, though, she integrated into the family and became a part of the household, whether she knew so or not. Marlene enjoyed toting her around, Tifa liked the extra help, no matter the destruction, and her presence became like that of a silent watcher. Her company became almost necessary, in the house.

"Sorry," Tifa said, suddenly and forlornly, "you just didn't seem like it."

She was washing dishes, which was something she did whenever she wanted to think without interruption. I was sitting at the kitchen table, just trying to pass idle time before I started on another delivery job. Still a delivery boy, I kept a scheduled time of when I left and came. I was trying to get better about staying at home, which became easier when jobs came slower.

"Cloud, do you think I made a mistake?" she began, letting a plate slide back into the dishwater while pausing for me to answer.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not entirely sure.

The soap bubbles started sliding off her hands after the plate and she said, "Do you think I made a mistake by taking her in, like I did?"

I knew well that I was going to say no. It would be cruel to tell her yes, but there was something inside of me that wanted to. I still felt that all of us, Tifa, Mia, Marlene, Denzel, and me, only got hurt in all of this. Then again, where would all of us be if Tifa hadn't stretched out a kind hand to a troubled stranger? Where would all of us be if Tifa had never gone to check on Aerith's church?

Aerith; there she was again, in my brain. Just her name distracted me. Wouldn't she have done the same, though? I knew both of the two women wouldn't deny anyone in need.

I knew Tifa was getting worried by the delay in my reply so I finally eased her doubts. "No." I replied, not sure how to put my thoughts into words.

I checked the clock and knew it was time for me to go, I had to deliver a package by an hour, and I had stopped for a bite to eat before I left. I rose from my seat, but hesitated to leave; knowing Tifa wouldn't be comforted by just one word. I don't think anyone would.

I felt her arms suddenly wrap around me and she was crying into my shoulder. She was a tall girl, but I was taller and she looked so small against me. Her hands, fresh from the dishwater, wet the back of my jacket, and her tears wet my shoulder.

I can't deny that I was taken aback. I didn't know how to react to things, most of the time, but I could only return the embrace, then. I was her crying shoulder. No matter how awkward it was, though, I wouldn't have it any other way.

"It just never ends," she finally managed to gasp out when her sobs were more controlled. I could understand that she knew Jenova would never stop trying to make a return in any form and power it could. We all knew that fact.

The weeks between then and now, passed like rains do. They either take their sweet time, or they go by so fast you don't even realize it. It was all of that and more, sadly.

Marlene and Denzel had learned that Mia was gone three days after her original departure. Tifa, much less I, didn't know how to break the news to them, but she finally told them that she was just simply gone. Marlene, who had been our main concern, was obviously upset by the sudden disappearance, and asked why she had left, where she was, and when she would be back. We were only able to tell her she had just left for awhile and that we didn't know when she would be back. Marlene was clever enough to know she wouldn't be returning and Denzel was mature enough to realize this at the beginning of the conversation.

Sometimes, I would wonder if that cell Mia was shut in would really hold something like Jenova. Other times, I would wonder why Jenova hadn't emerged, yet, which led to me wondering if it was all just a hoax of some sort. Any way this was, or where it went, there still was the fact that we couldn't go back. She would still be scarred if we were able to take her away, but she was still there and unable to get out, which had to be continually scarring, itself.

And it was the eighth week when things took another turn for the worst with the front door banging open on a Wednesday evening when it was too late for the 7th Heaven to be open. I was the first at the door, and Tifa had left to make sure Denzel and Marlene were okay. Turks stood at our door, and stormed in, searching everywhere.

"What's going on?" I demanded. They were invading _my_ home. I had somewhat of a selfish streak when it came to those I'm not very fond of.

Tseng was the one who answered my question. I almost regretted hearing the answer. I still question if I would have been better off left in my ignorance.

"Have you assisted in the escape of a Mia Sanders?" He asked me, shining a flashlight in my face.

"Escape?" I asked.

A look crossed his face that pretty much signaled that this was a good enough response and turned the beam of light away from my illuminated face. Turks still searched the building and kept us from leaving.

"She's escaped, as of a week ago." He replied to my dismayed question. "It was obviously assisted."

"And you think she's here?" I asked, knowing that this wasn't their first suspicion. I was surpised that she had managed to stay hidden for a week.

"No, but we take extra precautions at a case as delicate as this." Tseng said, confirming my suspicion, before sending me to the living room to wait it out with the rest of my family.

Marlene was scared to death and Denzel refused to speak. Tifa was white-faced and we were all still in our nightclothes, waiting for some peace. Tifa hadn't been informed yet, but she didn't demand answers like I thought she would.

"She escaped." was all I told her before sitting on the couch next to the three of them. I didn't want Marlene and Denzel to know who I was talking about.

"They're not looking for her just here, are they?" Tifa asked me, immediately catching on.

"I'm not sure, but they pretty much know she's won't be found here."

"Then why aren't they out looking for her, everywhere else?" Tifa asked angrily.

I shook my head. "They probably are, but they're taking 'extra precautions'." I repeated with distaste. Tifa shook her head after I finished, and hugged a protesting Marlene closer to her.

* * *

Mia

* * *

I could feel my body moving on its own accord, but I couldn't see my surroundings. It was like I was lying dormant within myself and my body was set on autopilot, for now. I couldn't move, myself, and I couldn't think very clearly, but I was vaguely aware of things outside of me. I was in a chrysalis inside myself and someone had control of my body.

_Jenova_ was the first clear thought that ran across my head. I could feel myself beginning to grow fearful, but it was like a roller coaster making its way to the top then suddenly, right before rushing down into the real deal, it just stopped like it hit a brick wall. The height of it refused to go any higher as if it, too, was being covered with a pillow, suffocating my emotions.

My roller coaster slid back down to its original position, and maybe even lower. I was walled up to where my emotions could hardly get any further than my thoughts or will. It was almost a numb, dead feeling that was the only my walls did allow me.

What was left of my consciousness told me that something outside would have to vanquish this. I didn't mind if it would cost me my life, because anything was better than the numbness I was feeling.

* * *

Cloud

* * *

Tseng sat across me from at the table. The pressure of this urgent mission was weighing down on me, but I had been trained to ignore that pressure. I was able to ignore it simply with a cup of coffee.

"We've already searched three suspected homes, two of which were empty, and one of which we actually caught a suspect." Tseng explained, as he denied a cup of coffee from Tifa. She wasn't hurt in the slightest, and set the pot of coffee back in the coffeemaker and went to check on the kids.

"However, we did find signs of a struggle in the first home." Tseng said, while his Turks embarked on another search destination. "Our suspect confirmed that they had been holding her, but wouldn't talk any further."

"Even with your methods?" I asked, knowing I would only provoke the Turk.

Tseng sighed agitatedly and massaged his temples while he waited for me to finish my sip of coffee. He really didn't look up for any smart comments, and I noticed the dark circles under his eyes that were a sign of lack of sleep. I set down the cup and waited for him to talk.

"They had Geostigma." Tseng told me through the hand that was across his face.

"And?" I asked. That wasn't a reasonable excuse to be excluded from a Turk interrogation.

"Do you know what happens when you neglect to cure those alien cells?" Tseng told me ominously, "The Jenova cells had gotten so out of control that it was at the point of mind control."

This put me off my coffee entirely. Tseng wasn't done, though, and was just waiting for me to add on to what he said. I gave him the pleasure of my silence.

"This group of uncured individuals, at first ruled by extremists, congregates and call themselves The Society." Tseng said, "They took Mia." I remembered hearing of them on a news story Mia had managed to make me watch.

"But," I began then trailed off. What I was going to say was that she wasn't stupid enough to go with them, but when you're stuck inside a small space for as long as she's been, you wouldn't see anything wrong with getting out for a little while.

Instead of voicing anymore opinions, I just pushed away my coffee mug and looked Tseng in the eye. I had gone on multiple hunts related to Sephiroth or Jenova, and it was only a matter of time before another would show its ugly face.

"So where do we start?"

* * *

Mia

* * *

Something was wrong, I could feel it. Even if my emotions had been changed, my sense of perception was still at its norm and it was telling me something bad was happening outside of me, and I knew that I was most likely at fault.

I had to get out of the crevice I was jammed into. I had to try to fight this force keeping me locked in, so I started to shout, internally, if that was possible. I tried to get as angry and frustrated as possible, because that was the easiest emotion, at the time. I could feel that wall pressing back at me, though, still trying to keep me contained. There was a point where I had to stop and try to collect myself, but then I started in on this wall again, with what I did have left of me.

When I had started in on it, again, I was able to go higher than before, and I was able to feel a spark of some hope that had been leftover in the past, somewhere. It had to be just a little bit before there would be a break somewhere and either the wall or I would shatter.

Then, suddenly I was forced back down farther than I was allowed before. The oppressiveness had learned to strengthen, and if I could have growled, I would have then. Nevertheless, I started over at chipping away the barrier.

* * *

Cloud

* * *

I was back on that familiar motorbike, again. It had gone through a lot of repairs from the last battle it had seen, but the easy life of a delivery boy gave it time to rest. Now, it roared with a familiar sound that I was used to hearing when charging into battle.

Of course, I had to look for the battle, right now, seeming how it had escaped from its prison cell and ran off with a cult. The Turks had a lead, though, so I was able to pick up where they had to leave off. They had investigated multiple houses and a few more since my visit with Tseng, but all were empty, now, and the lead stopped with the missing cars at one of the houses. They had checked our house, out of desperation, and were now searching all over the city for that missing car.

It was obvious Mia had been taken and was probably on the way to a new house, but where? Tseng was able to pull up a few documents of those who had any sort of relation to the suspect they caught and found information on a few who were uncured or had suspicious activity relating to Jenova, and such. The investigated houses also belonged to a few of the pulled documents.

"Please, be careful," Tifa had told me before I left. "I know you can take care of yourself, but I still just want to tell you that."

When I turned to see her face, she was smiling hopefully. I found myself returning the smile before leaving.

"I'll be back," I called over my shoulder while going out the door. I didn't say it, but I wanted to tell her that it may not be any time soon, but I'll be back; I'll always be back.

Now I was hunting for any clue that might lead me on the trail of the missing person. I couldn't help but think, either, what if she had become Jenova, already? What if this was the night she would?

"Then where else would they be?" I asked myself, sarcastically, with a realizing smile. I rode my bike further on the outskirts of town, headed for a direction that held promise.

Turks were probably too busy chasing tire marks and time wasting forensics to take a good look in the distance. I was able to ride my bike a little ways into the wastelands that surrounded Edge and I looked out into the horizon. The faint white light in the distance that was the Forgotten City was looking odder than usual. When I looked at it a little harder, I could tell there was a reddish glow about it and my fears were just that much more confirmed, but my mind was at some ease.

I would have pulled out my cell phone and called Tseng right there if I hadn't have left it in the same pool Mia was probably at right now, but it wouldn't be hard to bump into a Turk in this sort of crisis.

* * *

Mia

* * *

My perseverance was weakening and I felt a mental exhaustion beginning to overcome me. I was about to leave the force that was opposing me let be, but I knew that I would get nowhere with that.

Then, whatever that was keeping me bottled up tried to use my memories against me. Past failures and transgressions were tossed across my mind and I was starting to feel the dragging effects of the disheartening memories. I wasn't going to get anywhere, either, if I fell for that trick, so I used the outrage that this force was using against me and just used it to make me that much more angry.

Then, something broke and I was back at home.

* * *

Cloud

* * *

I hadn't bothered to wait for the Turks to catch up with me. I hadn't even bothered to tell the rookie Turk, that I had borrowed the cell phone off of, where I was headed to. I was sure that there was nothing wrong with getting a head start in this situation.

I was approaching that familiar border of white trees. Their light that was edging the distance almost looked like how the sunrise would look if the sun was white. There was also the red light, buried under all the gossamer trees, that was my target.

The words, "_Be careful_," entered into my mind and back out again. I didn't know if I would be able to grant that wish if I was going up against what I thought was in the heart of this white forest. I didn't know if I was truly prepared to go up against what I was approaching, but I had come, anyway, to face what fate awaited our planet.

"_You'll be back, you said so, yourself,_" a familiar voice said to me in the night. I smiled at the comforting words of an old friend who was watching over us. It had been awhile since I had last heard that voice, maybe it was at my last battle against Jenova's forces, but I knew she had always been there, even since then.

The trees grew in size as my bike sped me onwards to them, from the tiny line of light I had first seen, to reaching hands, and to collected webs and finally I was close enough to make them out as regular trees. Of course, I was still a ways away, but I was getting closer.

But then, I had to stop my bike when I saw a red light from the sky above that looked like the sky was tearing apart itself. Jenova truly had arrived.

* * *

Oh my gosh! That was my first time writing from a guy's point of view, at least in first person! I think I may have written a bit of my old Naruto fic in a guy's point of view, but it was a third person point of view. I thought it would be nice writing a little bit from Mia's point of view to help move the fic along. I hope the readers liked it! Ugh! The stupid line thingies were so hard to work with! Not to mention, they would disappear on me, every now and again... Yeah, and I forgot the name of Cloud's motorbike. I used to remember, but my mind doesn't retain alot of tiny tidbits such as that.

Ninja Cat of Light

:3


	13. Chapter 13 The Battle Begins

Yet another chapter! Will it ever end? Hmmmm…..

Ugh, so I decided not to try the line thing again when switching point of views so I have italicized and bolded the names of whoever the point of view will be from, so don't get lost.

Disclaimer: I do not own the FF7 compilation.

**Note: This chapter gets a little more intense than usual. If any of the readers have a problem with the rating, go ahead and say so I can bump it up to T, in case it is not adequately rated.**

Chapter 13 The Battle Begins

**_Mia_**

I quickly sat up in my bed sheets and looked around. Yup, it was that same college dorm with the same immature neighbors who lived above me. There was no doubt about it, with all of the girlish squealing going on above my ceiling. I sank back down into the bed that had the same creaking mattress that could be qualified as a musical instrument by now. The same white, cracked ceiling stared back down at me. There was no mistake in the way there were random clothes piled on the floor and I frowned as I realized that I must really be home.

"So it must have been a dream." I said to myself. I thought that I should have been relieved that I had escaped a terrible ending to said dream, but I wasn't. "Then what happens?" I mused aloud.

Seeing my TV, I was suddenly feeling uncompelled to turn on the old PS2 that sat welcomingly by the tiny television set. The time that had passed in the night had seemed like so long of a dream to be apart from the videogames that awaited me for just one vision, but I just didn't get the urge to pick up the remote controller. Not much of anything seemed like it would amount the same as it ever did; not books, not videogames, nothing. I tried to reason that I was probably experiencing the after blues of a mere dream that happened to be better than reality. Even though it was a terrible feeling, I didn't want to lose the memory of that dream where I had struggled to make it through a fictional world.

As I stared at my yellowing wall that was opposite my bed, I tried to place all those events under the category of just a dream. All those things that had happened didn't seem to belong under such a skimpy label. Each and every of my five senses had been so immersed that it couldn't have been just a silly dream. It didn't make sense to disgrace something so real with the term dream.

I managed to smile, though, even if it was a broken one, at the memories of actually teaching and the fun I had had with the students I had been assigned. Maybe teaching was what I was destined for in college. I sighed, thinking that the only thing that I would get from this life was a change in direction. I planned to change my major from computer to a teaching one as soon as I got over the shock of waking up. There were also the memories of my little spats with Cloud and the way Tifa had been such a friend. The entire household had been such good friends to me. Now, it seemed such a shame that it wasn't real, though.

I looked out the window of my dorm and at the tree branches that hung in front of it, blocking the view as it always did. The green of the leaves were exceptionally brilliant, today, but something put me off of the beauty. At first I hadn't paid any attention, then I sensed something was off. It was a discomforting feeling and I planned to do something about it. I jumped from my place on my bed and checked the calendar which was the date of the day after my wreck that had sent me to Gaia, which was probably a dream, too. Getting over the current day, I poked my head out of the dormitory window and looked harder at the tree. Although it had never really been something burned into my memory, I remembered there being a bird's nest somewhere. And there it was, the bird nest that had bothered me, with the racket of campus wildlife, almost the entire semester, but it had just revealed itself. Even if it was such a small detail, I couldn't forget the many sleepless nights of continual chirping and fluttering.

"Something's not right," I said, but sat back down on my bed. I spotted my laptop on my desk that was closed and snatched it off of its resting place. Opening the screen and turning it on, it came to the familiar blue screen.

"Something's definitely not right." I said louder when I remembered that I had changed the screen of my computer to a picture of Sephiroth. My pajamas changed to the clothes that I was wearing last, which were the work clothes from my escape out of ShinRa. I pushed the laptop off my lap and let it crash to the floor, knowing this wasn't reality, in the slightest.

Then suddenly the entire terrain changed and I was in my bedroom at the 7th Heaven. It was just how I had last left it and I was in the workman's clothes I was in before I was forced to undergo my transformation. I knew not to fall for the trick this time, though, and I swung my bedroom door that led to the hall open.

"But, why?" I said with faltering words. Then I realized why. It was trying to pacify me, like a screaming child. I felt my rage building, and then set to work on fighting from the inside.

_**Cloud**_

"It's started," I told Tseng, who had met me somewhere outside of Edge going towards the Forgotten City. He was waiting for me, even though I had just left the direction he was most likely planning on heading to. He was looking at the light above that looked as if it was splitting the sky apart.

"I could tell." He replied, still staring at the red light, almost like he was entranced by it. He was concentrating on it, intensely, and I could tell he was trying to figure out his next move.

"What do we do next?" I asked, trying to put a little pressure on him.

"Call the headquarters tell them to alert the public and to follow the necessary protocol, for this," Tseng ordered another Turk then said aside to me, "Who knows how to fight this?"

"Don't you think we should go in after it?" I asked watching the tear grow slowly, but steadily, bigger. Tseng didn't reply to my question, and I knew the fight wasn't for him. Turks couldn't take on forces that weren't meant for them to battle.

"Why don't you work on securing the city, then?" I said, turning away from the handful of Turks who were gathered around. After a few seconds of silence I got back on my bike and headed back out towards the Forgotten City. Someone was going to take a stand.

As I headed onward, I was taken by surprise when red tendrils of light started weaving out of the red light that broke up the night sky. It was eerily beautiful, in a way, and I couldn't think of anyone who wouldn't marvel at the sight of it, but I had a mission and I couldn't get distracted by a mere light show. The red tendrils began to touch ground as I entered the white forest and the trees were catching the light of it, beginning to turn red themselves.

I rode on into the night, not knowing what would lie ahead of me. Something inside of me hoped in vain that everything would be all right and it was just a natural phenomenon occurring in the sky. Maybe the Turks would find Mia somewhere and get her out of the disaster that was most likely occurring now. I knew better, though, and Jenova was probably waiting at the end of my path.

The forest deepened to the same shade of red the patch of sky had been stained and it seemed as if the light was watching me, which was only expected in this sort of situation. As I reached the heart of the forest, I could see the one giant tree that stood over the pool that marked the area I was heading. The twisted tree was blood red with the light and I thought I saw people through the trees around me as I approached.

I was right about the people, there were at least twenty of them, all standing around the pool staring at the same thing which was where the red tendrils of light were descending. Out of the reddened water, a body rose from the pool and gently ascended into the air. Long silver hair seemed to float endlessly around the being and the sickly blue skin contrasted with the red light that was encircling it.

It wasn't the Jenova we had last seen in the holding tank at the reactor. This one was almost new, borrowing Mia's body in order to continue its campaign of destruction. Jenova had also borrowed the black wing of Sephiroth which added to the menace. The red light also seemed borrowed, as if the creature had called remnants of its power that was still floating through space and time, like Shinra had said before. Aside from its newly acquired attributes, it was unmistakably Jenova.

I remembered how Kadaj had once called Jenova, Mother. I didn't see how any being would want to call something so evil by such a close name.

Immediately, I pulled one of many swords in the weapon rack, hidden in Fenrir, and launched it at Jenova. The evil being dodged it with only a slight, fluid movement. It had missed by less than inches, but it had taken great skill to maneuver enough to actually dodge it without as much as a twitch.

Suddenly, as I put the brakes on my bike, the world had seemed to go black, for a moment, but then the light of the forest materialized back into the ghost white it was as normal, however it still caught some red light from somewhere.

I noticed that there was no light emerging from the hole in the sky and stayed there as if it was the mouth of the atmosphere. Once my eyes had adjusted to the change, I noticed there was a red aura of light, like a web, circulating around Jenova, as if it was the finishing touch of the rising. The monster's eyes opened for the first time and they were literally shining like two stars, making me unaware of where Jenova was truly looking at.

Just then I thought of the safety of the other people who were standing idly around. They hadn't moved from their hypnotized position and I knew they were going to suffer the effects of Jenova's awakening.

I didn't have time to try to wake them up, though, when I noticed a beam of tentacle-like red light shoot out from Jenova's aura and wrap itself around the sword that had missed earlier and was now implanted in the giant tree behind. Before I knew it, I only had seconds to dodge my own blade that was ripping through the air back to me. I was able to flatten myself to the ground, out of its way.

All thoughts of Mia being still in any control immediately imploded on themselves. I knew she was in no control, anymore, and that there was no time in lamenting over that fact. I couldn't help but search the face of the powerful creature for signs that there was something left of her, though.

In my moment of distraction, a tree was being hurled at me by the tentacles of light that was Jenova's main arsenal of defense, at the moment. There wasn't much dodging as it barreled towards me at a speed too fast to dodge and I closed my eyes, wondering if this was truly the end.

That's when I felt myself lifted by the collar of my jacket and when I opened my eyes, Vincent stood over me, with his cape acting as a red aura of his own. I knew he often explored the Forgotten City, but it was hard to get a hold of him because he kept his cell phone number to himself, due to reasons involving Yuffie.

"You should be more careful, next time," he said, but we didn't have much time to chat. I spotted my sword stabbed into the ground, not too far from where we were standing.

"Thanks," I said quickly, before snatching the sword from its temporary sheath in the earth. I noticed there were bullets splashing off the red aura of Jenova, which belonged to the triple-barreled gun of Vincent's.

"The others are on their way aboard Cid's ship." He told me, his face remaining ever stoic as he glided from place to place, trying to break through Jenova's shield. "Jenova can't be defeated by just one."

"Great," I said, not sure if I was entirely glad, before heading back onto the field. I didn't know if I wanted the former AVALANCHE members involved in something like this.

Currently, I wasn't sure of how to get at Jenova, but I knew that the bullets that were flying would serve as an effective distraction. I also knew that sheer brute force wasn't going to take me anywhere in this fight. I would have to find a weak point somewhere around the screen.

The more I tried to look though, the more I had to dodge things that Jenova was sending flying through the air, including ricocheting bullets. When Vincent had to stop to reload, the vines of red light swept out and tried to strike us at the same time, leaving holes that had been bored in the ground where we would have been. I dodged out of the way, still looking for a spot to make my move and Vincent had easily snaked around it. They kept coming at us, though, chasing us around the battlefield, and were practically invincible.

Vincent had began spraying bullets again and was getting the most of Jenova's concentration, but Jenova lessened its focus on him and suddenly lifted its arms towards the sky and a solid beam of red light connected between the red light in the sky and the monster's beam of light. Not much effort could go into guessing that it was preparing to attack the planet, itself, in order to end the petty battle forever.

"Keep shooting!" I shouted at Vincent who didn't need me to tell him to. Jenova was provoked enough to send out more of its moving spikes of light in its preparations.

However, that was a bad move for it, because I was able to lock my eyes on its encasement of the web-like red light around it which was, in a way, centered on the roots of its strands of attacks on Vincent and building up the power that it was going to use to strike out at the entire planet. I could see a clear spot where there was no light, that hadn't been there before, far from the base of the concentrated power that was everywhere else. The unattended space was narrow but it was one good chance that couldn't be passed up. I ran towards the side where the open spot was, farther from Vincent and hopefully out of the creature's range of sight, or at least its concentration.

I thrusted my sword at Jenova and prayed that it would be the last time I would have to. Time slowed down in the anticipating moments of the sword's flight through the air and I thought I could almost see the very air before it separate in order for it to keep slicing through towards its unsuspecting target. The unsuspecting target, meanwhile, was building up its own anticipation for the calamity that was about to be unleashed upon the planet if a piece of steel didn't stop it first. I could almost feel the sound waves brush against me of the bullets that were directing the concentration of Jenova. This was a moment that would decide the fate of Gaia.

And like good will always triumph over evil, the sword struck something. I didn't know what it had stabbed and it didn't seem like it had directly pierced Jenova, but like glass shattering, the red light that was the energy to be Jenova's final blow against the planet disassembled before my very eyes. The sky had sewn itself back up and Vincent's bullets pierced the red aura of light, hitting the outstretched black feathered wing that immediately withdrew from the pain and shock.

The thing that was now wounded opened its mouth and let loose a shriek that could have been heard from all over Gaia. The voice sounded like a chorus of both angels and the voices of nightmares not yet seen. It was an earsplitting scream of pain, anger, and frustration.

The monstrosity never spoke the entire fight, and just sent out its attacks at us like we were just pests. I wondered if it even had a soul to speak with, but I took those thoughts back.

I was taken aback, though, when it looked at me and said in that strange voice filled with the voices of creatures everywhere say, "It is not over," before disappearing into thin air.

Vincent and I looked at each other and we both believed the words Jenova had spoken. Even if it had disappeared, Jenova was still waiting on another battlefield to finish the fight. I didn't know how it would, but it was going to be met on that last fighting ground and finished, whether it knew so, or not.

"I've got to go," I said not bothering to look for the sword that had disappeared after piercing Jenova's defenses.

"You're forgetting something." Vincent said, indicating the circle of people who had collapsed at Jenova's disappearance. I could see patches of Geostigma across at least three of their faces and it wasn't hard to guess that the rest of them were carrying the disease that had took over their bodies as Jenova had taken over Mia's.

Jenova had summoned leftover powers during the fight, in order to build up power to finish the planet. If what Shinra had said before was true and Mia had come into contact with that raw deposit of Jenova on her way through dimensions, then it was only logical that she was the one to become the monster instead of the petty humans on Gaia whose immune systems weren't near as vulnerable as the outsider's. The people gathered round were just the delivering team. Jenova probably knew Mia wouldn't go entirely by her own will so it had probably used the few uncured individuals as enforcers.

"Tell Cid to load them up whenever he gets here," I said over my shoulder, "and have him drop them off at Shinra's, he can deal with it from there."

"And where are you going?" Vincent asked, putting away his gun. I could feel his intense crimson gaze behind me.

"I'm going to make a quick pit stop and then I'll meet up with all of you, later." I said as I walked away.

"Where at?"

I smiled, not really believing how he couldn't have predicted where Jenova was headed to. It was the place where everything else had ended, so why not end things there?

"Over at the church." I said, before riding off on the bike.

_**Mia**_

I was beginning to feel more in touch with the body snatcher that had taken over my physical being. I was beginning to tap into some of its thoughts with the weakening of the jail I was in. At first, I didn't realize it, but like a leaf on a breeze the concept of a door floated across my mind and I was able to catch on to something that I knew Jenova didn't want me to know. For every cage, there had to be a way in, therefore, a way out. There was a door in my last prison Jenova had left me in, which was the laptop that, unlike the bird's nest, didn't have time to rearrange once I realized something was wrong and destroyed it.

"Where are you?" I almost sang into the mental fortress that was walling me in with visions of what I had considered my homes, before. The door I had jerked open looked out into the hall that was a perfect recreation of the real thing.

I took my first steps out slowly, almost expecting Jenova to throw something at me, but then again, it was probably too busy with the destruction of the planet to fight me right now. I quickened my pace as I began the hide-and-seek game and started to look for something that didn't fit. To my frustration, everything was almost perfectly in place in every room and I went back into the living room and noticed something.

The TV was in a different place than it had been before so I went over to it and tore it off of its place on the cabinet it sat on. As it crashed to the floor with a crack of its screen, I waited for a change in surrounding but received nothing. I had been too late in realizing the fact that the TV was the gateway out, and that same gateway had probably moved, by now, to something else I hadn't realize was off, yet.

Unlike me, Jenova didn't know the exact placement of the objects in my past homes. It was only using the disassembled memories inside of my mind, rearranging things before I could realize it as I recalled that it was misplaced. However, if it taps into my thoughts, I eventually get to tap into its. There was an equal chance of winning this mental battle for the both of us, empowering my usually weak self.

I ran back through the house and ended up stopping in my room and throwing myself on my bed in frustration at finding losing, so far. I knew I would get nowhere by rushing through everything, but I wanted to get out as quick as possible. A place as intricate as the 7th Heaven would take time to comb through, but I didn't have that time to go through every fork drawer and china cabinet. Suddenly, though, I snapped my head back off the bedcovers when I thought about something.

I looked at the mirror in my room and ran to it before pulling it to the floor before it could change. The reflection had shown me in my clothes I usually wore for teaching, but I had been in the ShinRa work clothes my self-image had put me back into when I first realized that I wasn't in reality. I didn't know how I missed that, but it was too late for the mirror that lay smashed at my feet.

The terrain changed, once more, and I was in my jail cell at ShinRa's. This time, though, Jenova had purposefully made it darker and smaller, creating a more suffocating environment. I knew that wasn't the key to the gate though, but a trick to keep me down. I could feel a lifeline back to my physical body, somewhere, and even if it was pretty weak, I felt it there and could almost feel the cool temperature of the outdoors which let me guess that Jenova was still in the Forgotten City.

My mission was to find the gate out of here, meanwhile, so I turned my attention back to the current setting that was placed for me. I hadn't paid much attention to the jail cell I was forced into, then, but I still strained my eyes for something that wasn't quite right. I searched through the steel prison that echoed my footsteps ominously while I raked through every inch of the room.

I had to stop, though, when I felt pain somewhere unreachable. I knew the person I was in the prison cell was just a mental projection of me, but the pain of my physical body took me off guard. It had come with something like a pop, and I could feel with the frayed connection to my body that something had hurt Jenova.

"Please let it be them winning." I said out loud, not sure who exactly I was talking about. I had to cease my search, though, for the pain.

* * *

Wow, that's the most action I've ever written in a fic. Sorry, if it wasn't very good, we're all amateurs at something. I totally winged that, though, and even if it may be late in saying this, but I have never actually played Final Fantasy VII, the video game, so I apologize if any aspects of Jenova and such contradict from the original storyline.

I was originally introduced to the Final Fantasy series by Kingdom Hearts (which I have played). However, I really got into it after watching Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (which was entirely AWESOME). A lot of research really helped in understanding the full story of the series and I couldn't help but write a fic for it. I hope that doesn't change the way my readers think of me and my fic, though.

The Jenova part, however, was something I totally winged. From what I've learned, it didn't make a lot of appearances as itself, so I fabricated Jenova and its behaviors out of my own imagination. I do know that it didn't originally have a wing. That was something I wanted to add to make it seem almost as if it was some sort of patchwork Jenova. Like it is written from Cloud's point of view, I wanted Jenova to seem like it had to borrow most of its power from what remained scattered throughout the universe so the wing sort of coincided with the whole "borrowing" aspect, in my opinion. Plus, it adds a certain Sephiroth factor that is just so hard to leave out of any fic.

Ranting over.

Ninja Cat of Light


	14. Chapter 14 The Last Battle

So I'm back with yet another chapter! I'm excited to get this started and it's maybe one of the most important chapters, so I'm not going to say much besides the fact that I don't own the FF7 compilation.

Note: After seeing more of this fic's colors does the genre fit the story?

* * *

Chapter 14 The Last Battle

_Cloud_

It had to be this sword to finish everything. Although it didn't seem like the most reasonable thing to do, I was pulling the rusted weapon from the ground, anyway. The sword would be back where it belonged in time, but it had one more battle before doing so. I cleaned off what I could with a rag I kept in my gallery of swords that stayed concealed. Dust and other dirt that had been blown in by the weather came off and I managed to clean a lot of the grime off, but the rust was still there. Nevertheless, I knew the Buster Sword was still far from falling apart.

I looked off into the view the cliff provided for me. Edge, in its cluster of buildings, sat in the middle of the brown wilderness, but I noticed something that was off from the color scheme. I could see grass or some sort of vegetation somewhere in the distance, headed straight for Edge and I couldn't help but smile over it. For a moment, I was impatient to see if there were going to be flowers in the spring. It was still that awkward time of year that was technically after winter, but the fruits of spring were still waiting to blossom.

I got back on my bike and rode off with the sword, in hand. I would have probably made a phone call, but I knew that AVALANCHE would be waiting for me, anyway. I just hoped they wouldn't start the fight without me.

_Mia_

After I recovered from the shock of the pain, I could feel the change of temperature as my physical body must have changed location. Nevertheless, I was still trapped in the mental prison of steel that I had to get out of.

The tight cell brought back unwanted memories that weren't thrown onto me by Jenova. They had floated back into my conscious mind and reminded me of the pain and loneliness I had been forced to endure before diving into a whole new prison with my escape. The return of memories prompted me to turn over on the bed I had managed to scramble on when I had been affected by the pain from outside.

I stared at the ceiling and had to squint because of the fluorescent light bulbs, like the ones you see in public buildings. It was a drastic change from the gloom of the rest of the room so I covered my eyes with my arm. Frowning at the interruption of the light spectrum that my eyes had grown accustomed to I tried to rake my mind for anything I may have spotted, previously. Then, I smiled and reached for something to throw, not knowing the outcome.

Knowing that the room was proofed of anything that could be used as a weapon, I took off my shoe, or my mental shoe, at least. Acting like I was just normally taking my shoes off, I took one more look at my target before hurling my left shoe at the light bulb above me. Although it was something easy to miss, I knew that there were only three lights on the ceiling, not four, and I had struck the fourth one which was raining down sparks that washed away the scene, like a cleansing rain.

The setting changed to my classroom and I was surprised to see Jenova using things that were barely on the edge of home, now. It was weakening.

_Cloud_

I was actually the first at the church, but I realized that Cid wasn't too far behind by the roaring of his aircraft. It was only a matter of moments before I would be barraged by the random questions and banter of all my old friends and it was only expected that I wait for them before going into the church that had already survived enough damage.

"You changed your number, again?" I heard the loud voice of Yuffie over the sound of the opening hatch. At first I thought she was talking to me, and I was about to tell her that I had lost my phone when I realized she was going on to Vincent who was refusing to answer. "You never call anyone, to begin with, and you change it again! Why just even keep a cell phone? - Oh, hi, Cloud!"

I turned around to face the handful of people getting off, and waved back.

"Let's just get this over with." Vincent said to me, as he passed me by, most likely exhausted by Yuffie's high energy. He made a beeline for the church, but waited at the doors for the rest of us.

"So did Shinra get his present?" I asked, indicating the number of unconscious people from the Forgotten City.

Cid answered my question before anyone else could get a hand in, "Yup, I hope he has enough medical sta-,"

"-That was so lame of you to leave all those people for us to clean up! Do you realize how long it took?" Yuffie butted in, immediately getting fired up at me.

"Shut your trap, couldn't you see I was talking?" Cid shot back at her.

"I had to go pick something up," I cut in before anymore bickering could commence.

"Yeah, little lassie, over there, wasn't listening to that part when Vincent told us." Cait Sith said from atop Red XIII's head, "I'm pretty sure all she heard was the part about heavy lifting."

"Hey!" Yuffie shouted back.

I didn't even try to stop the arguing, but my eye caught on Tifa, who was standing at the back of the crowd.

"Well, I knew you would take care of yourself," she said to me, hardly audible above the others' fighting.

"Alright, can we get this done? I don't think we need to stand around yapping to each other." Barret was able to throw in, his voice always managing to be heard above the rest, but only ended up getting fussed at by Yuffie.

"Jenova's in there waiting for us, and we can't be sure if it'll remain long enough for us to get in." Vincent said, sobering the group up whose attentions returned to the mission at hand. I turned to go inside and couldn't believe that the doors of the church were still on their hinges after all this time and after all the damage it had suffered before.

We went in, all at once, because of the wide doorway. There were a few flowers trying to bloom around the edges of the wide pool that was in the church. It was a mess after that last battle with Kadaj, but no one had touched any of the rubble out of reverence. The roof was completely gone and there was a clear view of the sky above us.

We all set our eyes on the figure that was framed by the star speckled sky, awaiting us to come finish the battle. We may have not felt the exact same when we fought Sephiroth or had the same will to fight, a few years ago, but we didn't have to for something like this.

_Mia_

I was sitting in my chair at my desk. For some reason, it really was good to be back at work even if it was a fake classroom. I could feel a stronger connection to my physical being and I began to hear things outside of me and had to stop myself from looking over my shoulder when I heard footsteps. They were outside my body, but I was almost convinced it may have been a student or even Jenova coming to finish me.

Jenova _couldn't_ finish me. I was able to pick that up from its thoughts and reveled in the fact that I couldn't be terminated so easily. It needed my body to use as its own and if it removed the real me, the body would have to go, too.

"Where to start?" I said, wondering the level of difficulty this would provide for me. For a second, I was experiencing the same feeling as when I did when playing videogames. Annihilating one level and going to the next was something exhilarating.

Exhilarating; I was beginning to feel things again. There was still that wall there, but I was either beating it or someone else was. I guess I would just meet them halfway.

I was startled, though, when I thought I heard shouts and for a second, I thought I heard Yuffie. This was going to be annoying if I was going to jump at every sound, and I tried to ignore the sounds outside of me. I had to find this gate.

"But where?" I asked out loud as I rummaged around my desk and even went over each student's computer, pulling up each and everyone. It would take forever to go through every file and it seemed unlikely for this gateway of sorts to be an individual file. Everything looked normal and I sighed exasperatedly as I looked at the white board, with my hands on my hips.

"Ah ha!" I said with a bounce in my step and tried to rip the whiteboard from the wall. At first, I forgot it was bolted in, but that's what Jenova had forgotten, too, and it came off, even though it was huge and stiff. The board seemed like it was heavy enough to crush me, however it came off easily like I was pealing tape off the wall. I let it drop to the floor, after getting all four corners removed and it began to sway before leaning forward.

Before the board could fall on me, my setting changed, once again, getting an angry shout from me, but then I started laughing madly when I realized that I could get angry. All there was left now was to get out.

_Cloud_

Jenova was waiting for us, suspended in the air and framed by the moon that was visible through the roofless ceiling. The star-like eyes, almost lost in the other stars that were in the backdrop of sky, seemed to look down on us and we were all looking back up. Jenova's silver hair flowed all around it and the black wing was outstretched again, recovered from its previous injury.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Barret asked all of us, who were in some sort of staring contest with Jenova. He made the first shot which was dodged like my sword had been, nothing more than a twitch let Jenova evade it.

After that, the battle sparked to life. Vincent was letting loose more bullets and Yuffie had thrown her shuriken at Jenova. The church was lit with gunfire, but the tentacles of red light had made a return, but without the protective shield and Jenova had to deflect everything with its limited amount of solidified light, leaving it open.

It was obviously weaker than it was, earlier, but the determination to survive had made it that much more untouchable. Jenova was able to dart around, airborne, which gave it an advantage against those of us who were too close-ranged for that.

Finally, though, a bullet had touched the creature, piercing its side and another in its wing in the split moment of distraction. Even if both were nonfatal, they were still weakening shots. Jenova might be untouchable, but it was able to wear down.

The battle waged on, though, maybe for minutes or maybe for hours and the sun had well risen, peaking over the walls of the church and flooding it with sunlight. Jenova was still alive and some of us were getting worn down, ourselves.

"How do we even fight this?" Yuffie asked no one in particular when she had fallen back.

"Who knows? I can't even get a hit on it." Tifa replied, her hand-to-hand combat almost useless in a situation like this.

"Great, we're going to be here forever." Yuffie said, agitatedly. I was ready to agree, but then, I remembered the way distraction had been Jenova's downfall in our last fight. I couldn't help but think she got that from Mia.

"I've got a plan," I said, getting ready to charge back into the fray, "pass on to the others to keep hitting it from the front."

"Gotcha!" Yuffie said, immediately entering back in and spreading the news, rather loudly.

"Cloud," someone called out to me. I noticed Tifa, not too far away.

"I know," I said giving her a smile, "I'll be careful."

She smiled playfully and followed Yuffie's lead back into the fight. I was able to get around Jenova while everyone had it distracted. I found myself on a slab of stone somewhere behind the malevolent life form.

"This is where it ends," I whispered to myself.

_Mia_

I immediately set to work on finding the exit of the room I was in. This prison was Beatrice's guest room that I had been locked up in and I didn't appreciate the throwback Jenova sent me. I also didn't appreciate all the noise going on outside of me, which not only distracted me, but signaled that there was a fight going on. I had to end this quick. I didn't know what would happen when I did, but I knew that I had to.

"Come on!" I almost shouted. For a second, I had the sun in my eyes, even though I was facing a wall without any windows. I was beginning to gain some control over my sight, and the light didn't help with my search.

I ran around the room, wondering where my target could be hidden. The door had been locked just like Beatrice would leave it, so I knew that this was where my gateway would be. I couldn't find any difference, nevertheless, even if Jenova was weakening.

"Where are you?" I shouted, feeling my rage boil. I would have basked in the glory of gaining the full extent of my emotions back, but I had no time.

I looked out the windows and almost gave up. I sat on the bed and stared at the world outside that had been perfectly recreated, although still beyond my reach, like a painting. I remembered how I had escaped from those windows one night and got so far from escaping all of this, entirely.

"That's it!" I said with a spark of joy. I picked up the nightstand beside the bed and brandished it like a weapon, assuming the position by the window I had took maybe a week before when I had tried to escape by bashing in the panes. "Time to pick up where I left off!"

I swung the nightstand like a baseball bat and the windows, that were missing their wooden bars that had kept me from escaping, splintered into many fragments. With the glittering shards of glass, everything else seemed to shimmer and flash as I awaited my release.

I felt a head rush as all the fake visions dissolved and I could sense fresh air rushing in and out of my lungs. This was a moment where I was one and the same with Jenova. I could feel the rising sun warm my skin and I heard the sounds of a battle that I was in the midst of. I was hurt and I was fighting back. It made perfect sense, too, and for some reason I both experienced the terror and enlightenment of Jenova's own thoughts and Jenova experienced the pain and joy of mine. It would have been a moment any other person would have thought horrific and scarring, but I wasn't frightened, Jenova was.

I realized, though, that Jenova was still wreaking havoc. I was fighting AVALANCHE and I couldn't stop myself. I didn't have time to have any fangirl freak outs, either. I was still Jenova.

That's when the terror finally gripped me and I tried to speak to plead for help, even if it was futile. I was able to choke out a few words, but they weren't at all audible. There was control I was yet to breach, however there was control over me that Jenova had yet to take, also.

Somehow I was beginning to fight Jenova within me, but it just wouldn't let go of my body. Even if I had gotten back some control, it still held me in its waning grip. I began to wonder if I was better off inside the dream worlds Jenova had created to keep me incarcerated. Witnessing the destruction was beginning to be too much, no matter which side was winning. I didn't want my opponents to get hurt, but I was just as hurt, too.

I could feel bullets piercing my body as I fought for control. Jenova couldn't fully defend itself with me trying to take back over and both of us were suffering for it. I had never felt a single gunshot in my entire life until now and I couldn't fight back. Jenova was still fighting for my body, redirecting what other harm could come our way. It wasn't enough, though.

Then, there was one pain that took away all the others. One explosive pain that canceled out everything else that I was feeling. I turned my head over my shoulder to see Cloud's face, sword in hand, and too close for the sword not to be touching me.

"Thank you," I said as I slipped into blackness.

_Cloud_

It had begun to act different when I got behind it. Its movements were jerkier as its defenses weakened for some strange reason and I thought I heard it try to speak once. I thought about waiting to see if something was going on, but this was a shot I couldn't waste.

This wouldn't be anything fancy, no epic moves involved, just one clear shot. Things were different from all those other fights.

Launching myself off of the flat of stone I had climbed upon, I drove my sword forward. I realized that I had hit the target and, in one moment, I had defeated Jenova.

"Thank you," I heard someone say. Out of ignorance, I glanced around for Mia and then realized that the voice was coming from the falling body, now dead, descending from its levitation.

I landed on my feet, as the body landed with a splash in the pool of water that was sent from the Lifestream maybe a year ago. The water enveloped Jenova entirely as it sank to the bottom, silver hair lingering at the surface and the light of the starry eyes quickly fading.

I heard cheers from my comrades who were relishing in the victory over a great evil, all except for one. Only Tifa and I realized what had just been done. With victory always came loss, I think it's safe to say we know it better than anyone.

When I looked at her, I could see the sadness in her face along with the tears brimming in her eyes, and wondered why no one else had noticed our somber moods. I couldn't tell who, but someone had left to alert the public and Shinra. No one else but us had bothered to acknowledge that someone was lost, now.

Would she have been lost, anyway, though? Someone who never belonged to our world may not have lasted. At least, that's what I wanted to think so the wound wouldn't feel deeper than it had really cut.

I approached Tifa, who leaned her head against me and looked at the ground, hiding her face. Still, the happy words rang on around us as if we didn't exist, at the moment. Mia may not have known it, but she was a friend. She may not have known it, but the loss would leave another scar to go with many others.

"Look!" someone shouted. I didn't try to place the voice, but followed their directions. Cait Sith pointed towards the pool of water and everyone was silenced by the sight they saw.

A body of a girl had surfaced and was lying at the edge of the pool. Hair darkened to brown by the water, covered her face and pale peach skin covered the hands that were peaking out of the oversized workman's clothes she was wearing.

* * *

Oh, the intensity of it all! I hate to make the readers wait for the next chapter, but I must hold off updating until next week as I've been able to do decently. Tell me if you think the rating still needs to be bumped up a notch. I, myself, feel that it may be alright, but then there are some people who might not be able to take this sort of stuff.

I hope my portrayal of the members of AVALANCHE was decent. It also felt like this chapter went by too fast, but I just can't help myself! It was such an important one, too.

Ninja Cat of Light


	15. Chapter 15 Home

Sigh, my last chapter! I believe this is only the second story I have completed. Such a sad thing to say! I'm also sad that it's completed, so soon, but what's a story without an ending? I ask you to read the author's note at the bottom of the story bits when you've completed the whole fic. It's mainly a thanks to all the readers and some other rambling, but at least read what might be bolded, please!

Oh, and just so you know, we're officially back into Mia point of view, and there won't be any Cloud point of views in this last chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own the FF7 compilation.

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Chapter 15 Home

"_You can wake up, now,_" a girl's voice told me in the void I was drifting in. I wanted to rest so badly. I was too exhausted to even open my eyes and my coherence barely even registered the white light filtering through my eyelids.

"_No need in being lazy,_" another masculine voice joked. They were talking to me like I was an old friend.

"I'm so tired," I murmured, not having the strength to move at all. Wherever I was, it was so pleasant and it made waking up harder than it already was. The way my body seemed to be suspended in thin air was something extremely comfortable and my mind was almost hazy as if, it too, were just rousing out of some deep slumber.

"_I would think so!_" the man said. My mind was beginning to set itself right and I thought that the two people sounded strangely familiar.

"_It's time to go back now; you have some people waiting for you. You should go home._" The girl told me. I didn't have to see her to know she was smiling warmly at me, in fact, the unseen setting I was in felt so warm, although I felt nothing.

"Aerith?" I asked, feeling my eyebrows furrow. Awareness that I had regained some control over myself hit me like I had woken from a long, dark sleep, before feeling bed sheets materialize around me.

I was able to open my eyes and look around. It must have been a worse car wreck than I thought to send me to the hospital. Mom was going to be furious when she heard from me at home. Not to mention, Tifa was probably worried to no end.

Wait a minute… I was getting my realities mixed together.

White walls of a hospital seemed to almost sing to me while my brain pieced together my whereabouts. A heart monitor beeped at me and I had the impulse to hit it, if only my arms would strengthen just a little more. I was so exhausted that I could hardly move and I was trying to remember what I had been doing last.

Then, I almost jumped out of the hospital bed when I remembered a sword driving through the center of me, the fear jerking my limbs fully to life. I pulled up the nightgown until I could get a good look at my abdomen which was clean of any evidence that would give away something as drastic as being stabbed through the middle with a sword almost as wide as I was.

A sigh of relief escaped me, but I almost sucked it back in for the fear brought to me when the thought of being back on Earth crossed my mind. I tried to look out the windows, but floral-printed curtains obscured my view and my body refused to sit up any further, so they were just out of my reach. I huffed angrily and lay back down on the clean hospital sheets. The absence of pain on my right arm caught my attention and I noticed that I couldn't feel the Geostigma, anymore. My impatience for knowing my whereabouts prevented me from investigating any further of my sudden healed state. I was either waking up from a dream or I had been somehow saved from my terrible fate.

"Only one way to find out, then," I said punching the nurse button.

It was an unfamiliar nurse who answered my call and I still couldn't differentiate whether I was on Earth or not. After a moment of biting my lower lip, I hoped my next question wouldn't prove me insane.

"Where am I?" I asked, trying to go about it the easy way. In most movies I've seen, every person surfacing from unconsciousness is always asking where they were.

"The hospital, where else?" the nurse replied conversationally as she fixed up my room, trading out the pillows I was laying on for fresh ones. There were multiple flower arrangements that had been sent to me that she worked on as soon as she saw to it that I was comfortable.

"Who are those from?" I asked, hearing the heart monitor beep more frequently in the anticipation for an answer. I knew if I was able to get a name from who the flowers might be from, I could indefinitely receive truth.

"Ma'am, I know it's nice to get flowers, but I'm going to have to ask you to calm down a little. You've been through a lot." She told me, worried for my health. I didn't pay any attention for the rising frequency in my heart rate.

"Okay, but who are those from?" I demanded this time, getting frustrated at the delay in answer.

"They're from your friends, now calm down." She told me slowly, trying to make me lay back down in my bed. The woman had no clue how dire my situation was right now, all she was worried about was getting my heart rate down. I didn't care if I had one, at the moment.

"I need to know who those are from, though! I need an exact answer!" I began to shout frantically, the heart monitor going crazy.

"Ma'am I'll have to be forced to give you a sedative if you don't calm down. You can look at them later." She said, her voice rising with my anxiety. I was beginning to feel the effects of both realities crashing down on me. The stress of not knowing my whereabouts added to the trauma I most likely received from either car wreck or Jenova transformation that was taking an unknown toll on me. I didn't realize how delicate a state I was really in.

"I've got to know!" I said repeatedly, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the woman's incompetence. I felt myself drifting off to sleep after helplessly watching the nurse inject something into my IV. I tried to curse, but it all came out in gibberish as I slipped back to a slumbering abyss.

Before I knew it, I was opening my eyes to the same hospital room and I heard pleasant voices in light conversation. I didn't like whatever sedative the nurse gave me and must have tried to come out of it too fast because my senses were refusing to fully return to me and I could hardly lift a finger. Everything came to me hazy and even the conversation refused to register clearly.

"Mom?" I mumbled, hearing a kind and familiar voice. The voices giggled, which made me angry in a disoriented way. I didn't see anything funny about it. "Mama?" I mumbled a little more insistently. I only got louder giggles as my comprehension bettered itself.

"Your mom's not here, right now." A new nurse said, looking at me from over the bed rail. I was relieved that I didn't have the last nurse there, but I was confused by her answer, until I finally came to a little more. "The disorientation is expected." She told someone over her shoulder.

"Tifa…" I said, placing a name with the voice more than I was asking for her. I was feeling embarrassed, now, by the mistake in the identities. Tifa had always reminded me of my mom, but it was different and awkward to actually call her my mom. My memories tried to rearrange themselves, although the tranquilizer that I was trying to break free from clouded my senses and mind.

"Did I die?" I asked, remembering how I had slipped into blackness at one point, "Isn't Jenova still here?"

"No, it's gone." Tifa answered, approaching my bedside with Cloud alongside her. His face brought back another memory.

"I thought you killed…" I tried to say, but became a little too weak to finish.

"You came out alive." Tifa told me quickly as to put away my fears. My eyes fell from their faces. Looking at them was beginning to be hard seeming how I was still tired, sedative or not. I saw their hands resting on my bed rail from the new position my pupils rested. Tifa's hand was resting on Cloud's and I noticed there was a circlet of gold around her left ring finger.

"About time," I said, aloud, glad that the obvious couple had chosen to finally tie the knot. I felt a warm glow of joy that helped spur my awakening.

"For what?" Tifa asked me, thinking I was requesting something. She followed my gaze and noticed I was looking at her engagement ring.

"Am I a bridesmaid?" I asked, unwittingly.

"A what?" Cloud asked. I forgot that the traditions on Gaia most likely differentiated from those of Earth.

"Never mind," I said. I was almost entirely out of my sleep that had been forced upon me. "So how did I end up here, again?"

"I'm not sure you'll remember," Tifa said, uncertainly.

"She will." Cloud objected, knowing more than any of us really thought. It almost reminded me of the way I knew more than they thought I did.

"But how?" she asked him, more than me.

"I will." I agreed.

"Maybe that's a story for another day." Tifa said, "Howabout we focus on getting you out?"

I stretched my arms, finally regaining some control over my body, "Sounds good to me." I said, "I've got papers to grade."

* * *

I was making the coffee, this time. I had insisted on it upon my return home, even though Tifa thought I needed to rest. I pleaded my case enough to get to doctor it up for now so I wouldn't have to endure the blandness of Tifa's.

We were sitting in her kitchen, where she was waiting for Cloud to get back from a delivery and I was enjoying the pleasures of getting to stay home. I had been teasing her the past hour about her upcoming wedding date.

"I thought it was about time!" I said after some bantering. I was waiting for the coffee pot to finish that last trickle of fresh coffee. I was still wondering if Cloud would like the married life, though. Still, I wasn't about to bring that up.

"Yeah, well it just sort of happened while you were in the hospital. Sorry you had to miss it." Tifa said, glowing with fiancé happiness.

"That's quite alright." I replied. I wasn't one for love stories, and I resigned myself to never being in one.

The light on the coffee pot went off, signaling the end of its preparations. I had also insisted on doing the sugar and cream, testing my natural coffee skills on someone else, finally. Something inside me held me back from experiencing the pleasant mood, however, as if I was undeserving.

Too bad I always wore my emotions on my sleeve…

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked, noticing my offbeat disposition.

"I'm… fine." I said, almost forcing the last word, knowing it was a lie. Lies had gotten me in a deep mess before and I was a little more sensitive about them, now. The habit was a hard one to kill, nevertheless.

"Are you sure? You look sad." Tifa commented before I placed a steaming mug of coffee before her.

"Try this!" I said, hoping for a distraction. She obeyed and drank deeply from the mug that I had shoved in front of her face and I got the desired reaction when there was a surprised and satisfied smile creeping onto her face.

"This is great!" Tifa said. I may not have been the best at everything, but I was a pro at videogames and coffee.

"Thanks, I've always liked my coffee sweet." I settle into the seat across from her.

"So what's been bugging you, lately? You've been sort of down." Tifa said, cornering me.

I sighed, before reluctantly letting it out, "I don't know, Tifa… I just thought that, what if people are gonna end up hating me?... I mean, I sorta turned into Jenova."

Tifa smiled mercifully on me. "It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks, you've made it this far."

I smiled back, still feeling the doubt in me. Nothing would be the same, I knew that much. Things were changed, even if it was for the better or for the worse. I would either be shunned or accepted by the rest of society.

_Oh, well,_ something inside of me said, _Bring it!_

"So if you came from another planet, how come you knew so much about ours?" Tifa popped the dreaded question. I knew there was no avoiding it, but I still didn't have a straight answer to give.

"Maybe that's a story for another day," I replied with a smile, hoping to bide my time just a little longer.

* * *

The wedding went beautifully and although the ceremony was different from that of Earth's, marriage was something universal. I didn't know if it was a religious figure that had performed the ceremony or not but there were vows, nonetheless. Also, the bride got to wear whatever color she liked, which I found nice, but Tifa had chosen white anyway, seeming how that was Cloud's favorite color on her. To my disheartening, there were no bridesmaids, but that also meant no groomsmen which would have been heck for me, anyway. Besides, I could never figure out the purpose of bridesmaids and groomsmen, to begin with.

There was a sort of party afterward that involved a lot of food and dancing, which I guessed was the equivalent of the reception, although it wasn't called that. I had managed to cram myself into a corner where I couldn't be seen for a potted plant, in order to escape the trivial embarrassments of being asked to dance.

For a moment, everything had stopped when Rufus Shinra had made an appearance with some of his Turks. When he seemed to pose no threat, the festivities picked back up with a few new guests to add. I made sure I was definitely hid, this time, having two different reasons to be hidden by the shrubbery.

I noticed, though, that there were some people who looked as if they were searching for someone. Even Cloud and Tifa seemed to take a glance around for this person, but they never separated. I heard my name tossed around in someone's words, so I snuck around and emerged somewhere that wouldn't reveal my cunning hiding place.

I could see Cloud and Tifa speaking with Shinra. I walked amidst the other attendants of the wedding as if I was there the entire time. Tifa spotted me, then Rufus, who gestured for me to join them. I hesitated, but I came over anyway, keeping my lips sealed. There was still something in my heart that didn't forgive him for what he did to me, even if it was over and done with.

"I believe I owe all three of you an apology, most of all, you." Rufus addressed us before directing his apology at me. He went on into a long speech about his mistakes, and such, as I only nlinked and let Tifa cover the rest of the conversation. I could tell that it was coming and I knew in time that I would find the heart to forgive him, eventually. In the meantime, though, I returned to my hiding place while the party went on with the few new people to add to the merriment.

Soon, however, I was discovered when a red haired Turk leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the plant. At first I had thought it was Reno and contemplated running for it, maybe with some screaming, but upon further inspection I was wrong. I tried to pull one of the large leaves to cover my face, but I knew the rest of me would still be seen through the other side of the vegetation. I didn't know the reasons for the man's hiding, but I wasn't about to ask him.

"Some party, huh?" he asked casually. I mentally cursed as I knew that I had been ratted out.

"Yup," I replied, releasing my hold of the leaf mask and even stepping a little further from out behind the plant. The leaf snapped back with an ungraceful shuttering of the entire plant. I knew first impressions weren't everything but first impressions were also things I severely needed to work on.

"Sooo… are you here for the bride or groom?" he asked me, trying to make some small talk. It was clear that social gatherings weren't exactly his thing, either. I still felt like running and screaming.

"Both," I replied shortly, "You?"

"Neither," he said. I remembered that there were extra party members that weren't exactly here to taste the punch.

"You work as a Turk?" I asked, forgetting my manners. I hoped that I didn't come across in some sort of negative light. I knew that my abundance in self-consciousness was also something I needed to work on.

"Yeah," he said with a smirk that revealed that he had a pretty spotty past, "mainly for the extra cash it brings in. Of course, I didn't come back until Shinra cleaned up a little."

I felt awkward for bringing such a subject up. My conscience screamed at me for most likely offending him.

"So what's your name?" he asked, breaking my silent guilt trip. I didn't know if I really wanted to tell him. Spotty pasts weren't exactly things that compelled me to mention my name. Seeming how my past was pretty spotty, though…

I told him anyway, "Mia. Yours?"

"Rod." He replied. I shrugged at this. His name seemed strange to me, on account of it being normal compared to the rest of the names here.

I could tell he really didn't want to be here, either, but I wished to be alone, anyway. I knew it would be any time he would pop the question. The inquiry was like it would be expected at such an event.

"So," he said, pausing before finishing the rest of his sentence, "any reason we shouldn't dance?"

I fought the urge to push the potted plant onto him and run, as earlier planned. However, I accepted the offer, knowing there was no escape.

I remembered a silly wedding custom while trying to distract myself when we headed for the dance floor. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Well, my dress was new and blue and I had borrowed an old necklace of Tifa's. It's funny how that is supposed to be for the bride and not me.

It was almost torture having to go on the dance floor and I could tell my face was red as a tomato. I could tell that the Turk was suppressing some of his personality, but I was also guilty for that, too. Things were extremely awkward and I was in no mood for a Cinderella story, so I had spent the entire time staring at my feet which would have most likely ended up treading all over his, if I hadn't, anyway. I don't think he was exactly enjoying it, either, but I think I was most relieved when we were off the dance floor to see the bride and groom off.

The wedding had ended and I was in charge of the children during their honeymoon, or whatever it's called on this crazy planet. It was spring break so I didn't have to deal with driving to school, which would have most likely ended in some sort of disaster. I did, however, manage to get my hands on a new cell phone that kept me busy the entire break. I got phone calls from people I didn't even know who had my number and I even received one from Yuffie who was looking to kill time, and who knows how she managed to get my number.

But as time passed and the happy couple made their return, I reluctantly picked apartment-hunting back up. I always had a place at the 7th Heaven, though, which would probably always remain my true home, no matter where I went.

And on one rainy day, while I had got side tracked from looking at some apartments, I paid a visit to a certain coffee shop where I bumped into Rod, and we even chatted for awhile, but then I realized that I had to take back my resignation from love.

So through all of the turmoil and chaos, I had came through it all from my beginning at Aerith's church and the ending of Jenova, I was able to prove others wrong in learning how to survive in Gaia.

The End

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YES! I'VE FINALLY FINISHED A FIC FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER! I'm so friggin' happy! I've been working on this fic like crazy, and haven't been able to hardly wait when it comes to updates! I've loved writing this and I hope the readers have loved reading this fic as much as I have writing it. **I would like to thank the readers who have made it to the end, and the reviewers who have graciously extended their thoughts and opinions! Not to mention, the multiple people who have alerted and favorited both my fic and I.**

**I would also like to especially thank the anonymous reviewers, too. Your opinion matters just as much as those who have an account, here!**

I ALMOST didn't make Mia end up with anyone. Sorry, if it was easy to tell so, in the end. I was having a terrible time of thinking of any characters for her to be paired up with, but I decided to do a subtle one with one of the characters from Before Crisis, as one of my reviewers suggested (thank you, sailor winx)! Sorry if Rod seemed OOC, too, I've never played Before Crisis and I used what research I had on Rod's character to write with.

Yeah… about the wedding part… I couldn't resist! I likes my CloTi pairing, now, and I was hinting at such things, earlier! Okay, but back on the part of the ceremony, I thought it would be funny to make weddings on Gaia just a _little_ bit different from those we most recognize on Earth. I didn't want it to get too far from an original wedding, though, because the videogame was made by Earthlings, wasn't it?

On the account of our little canon characters learning about Mia's knowledge prior to arriving on their planet I decided to let the reader decide what happens on that part. Another loose end I decided to leave untied was the fact whether Mia really ended up having a relationship with Rod, or not. I just decided to leave that as a more subtle pairing, as said earlier.

As always,

Ninja Cat of Light

P.S. It may be awhile before I update or publish anything, but… you haven't seen the last of me ;)


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